


Aria of the Soul

by Auragongal



Category: Forgotten Realms, Persona 5
Genre: Original Character(s), Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:28:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 36,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24165865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Auragongal/pseuds/Auragongal
Summary: It was just supposed to be a surprise visit to Le Blanc after he had finished high school. He was supposed to ask Sojiro for help in one day opening his own cafe in his hometown.Akira Kurusu did not expect to go on another adventure in another world full of elves and monsters.And what's up with the Velvet Room changing into a Tavern?
Comments: 6
Kudos: 25





	1. A Royal Welcome Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira arrives at Le Blanc after finishing High School, though it doesn't take long for things to get weird.

It had been a few months since his last visit to Tokyo from his home town. That summer vacation was one he wasn't going to forget and as he exchanged emails with Sophie just about every day he had free while preparing for the end of his final year of high school before he started entering the workforce for the rest of his life, he felt happy about his plans. In fact, the main reason he came to Tokyo was to not just visit his friends but perhaps ask Sojiro if he could get a job working at Le Blanc so that one day, he could start a cafe of his own somewhere.  
  
As the black-haired young man adjusted his glasses as he stood outside the ever-familiar green door of Le Blanc, Akira Kurusu looked down in his bag to see his one of his closest friends- a black and white cat with a yellow collar and stunning blue eyes.  
  
"So, ready to go in, Akira?" the cat said, causing the young man to nod and open the door, prepared to see the familiar face of Sojiro Sakura behind the bar, tending to customers in his homey little cafe in the backstreets of Yongen-Jaya. The smell of coffee and curry filling the air and maybe Sojiro's daughter Futaba working on something related to her hobbies of hacking or computers.  
  
As he entered the cafe, he did not expect to see the middle-aged but charming man and his red-headed adopted daughter sitting in one of the booths with no customers in sight to tend to, with Futaba clicking away at a laptop's keyboard while Sojiro was next to her, talking.  
  
"Futaba, remember to cast cure on the zombies!" he said, causing Akira to blink before realizing they were playing a game as he walked closer and saw Futaba seated at her laptop, her screen showing a group of zombies surrounding what looked like an armored elven woman and a man with short brown hair holding a longsword in what looked like a slummy part of a medieval city.  
  
"I know! That's why I brought along the cleric!" Futaba said, clicking on something and causing a flash of light to damage one of the undead monsters.  
  
"What are you two doing?" Akira then said, causing both Sojiro and his daughter to flinch and turn in their booth to see the black-haired young man smiling at them. Sojiro getting up out of the booth to move to a stool at the bar while Futaba got up to hug her surrogate brother.  
  
"Akira!" she said with a grin, "Oh man, Dad was having a slow day and I decided to come over with my laptop to play a game I got called Neverwinter Nights- the enhanced edition of course, and well, Dad decided to watch me play- and also backseat game."  
  
"Hey, it reminded me of a game Wakaba had me play with her while we worked together once," Sojiro said cooly, "A game called Dungeons and Dragons, so I was surprised to see a video game based on it. So, I bought it to introduce the series to Futaba."  
  
Akira smiled a bit, happy to see the two members of the Sakura family get along so well, before adding his own thoughts, "So, enjoying the game I take it?"  
  
"Yeah!" Futaba said with a smile, "I got to admit, I didn't think Dad would be into this sort of thing with how cool he is."  
  
"Hey, there's more to me than meets the eye!" Sojiro said with a laugh, "I even remember what character Wakaba played when we played the game whenever she hit a block in her research."  
  
"Really?" Akira said, "What did she play?"  
  
"An elven wizard named Jacob Silverleaf who kept a black cat named Merlin," Sojiro said, stroking his beard in thought, "When I told this to Futaba, she immediately decided to make a son for Jacob-"  
  
"Yeah, I went with a half-elf ranger named Aaron Silverleaf!" Futaba said as she interrupted her dad, "I even went with a panter animal companion named Morgana, after our favorite cat after all."  
  
"Well, I feel honored!" Morgana then said with a proud purr in his voice, though only Futaba and Akira could understand the cat as he peeked his head out of Akira's bag.  
  
"Morgana!" Futaba said with a smile as she scratched behind the cat's ears, "It's been a while!"  
  
"I see the cat's back," Sojiro said with a smile as he moved to work behind the bar, "Anyway Akira, what can I do for you?"  
  
"Actually," Akira said, "I was hoping you could give me a job here at Le Blanc."  
  
Sojiro looked at Akira in surprise, before smiling and pouring the young man a cup of coffee, "Well, I shouldn't be surprised, you did seem to enjoy working here while you were on probation."  
  
"Yeah," Akira said with a nod, remembering his first adventure in the Metaverse with ease, as he sipped the offered cup of coffee, he hummed a bit as he looked at his mentor in the cafe business, "Sojiro, did you use the Blue Mountain?"  
  
"Good catch," Sojiro said with a smile as he looked at the young man before him, "I see you remember which coffee is used for which blend,"  
  
"Yeah," Akira said with a small smile of his own before he suddenly felt tired and yawned, "Oh... I guess I'm feeling a bit drained, mind if I head upstairs for a nap, Sojiro?"  
  
"Go ahead," the man said with a nod while Futaba went back to her game, "We can chat more about a job when you're more refreshed."  
  
"Thanks," Akira said before heading to the back of the cafe where a set of stairs could be found and headed up them to the attic. There, he saw a mostly empty room save for a desk, a couch, a bed, a tv, and a large plant that Akira had spent a good amount of time reviving back to life. Still, he was too tired to think about the state of the room itself, and headed straight to the bed, where he laid down and closed his eyes to sleep.  
  
Visions of chains and the color blue assaulted his vision as he slept and dreamed, and it wasn't long before he found himself in a jail cell looking out towards a desk in a well-lit room filled with darkened cells. Standing next to the desk was a young girl with a butterfly winged headband and a blue dress. She had long, pale blond hair and blue eyes and as she turned to face Akira, she smiled at him before walking over to his cell.  
  
"Welcome back to the Velvet Room, Akira," she said pleasantly, though when he recalled how in his first adventure she was split into two girls named Caroline and Justine, he couldn't help but feel happy to see the girl they had become as well.  
  
"Lavenza, it's been a while," he said with a nod, before noticing a lack of something at the desk, "Igor still away, I take it?"  
  
"Yes, unfortunately," Lavenza said with a nod, "Master is preparing the next Velvet Room for another Wildcard, and this time he wants to make sure that he's not captured and replaced by whatever threat is to come for the world next time."  
  
"I see," Akira said, remembering that he had been told once about past Wild Cards like himself, and vaguely dreamt he met those past wild cards, though he couldn't remember where or when he had this dream. Still, he knew he couldn't save the world forever, and hoped that one day, he'd meet the next Wild Card to save the world.  
  
Though, he doubted they could top what he did, saving the world three times, the first two in his second year of high school!  
  
"Well, I hope I get to see Igor while I'm in Tokyo," he said with a smile, "I may not have gotten a chance to know the real him, but I still want to let him know I appreciate what he did for me... I wouldn't have met Morgana if it weren't for his efforts."  
  
"Indeed," Lavenza said with a nod and was about to say something else when the bars between them vanished, followed by the other cells disappearing one by one. The music of the Velvet Room also changing to a faster tempo as things started to melt into a void of blue.  
  
"What's going on?" Akira said, looking to Lavanza to see that she looked panicked.  
  
"I-I think the Velvet Room is changing on its own!" she said, just as part of the ceiling started to fall, causing Akira to move to save her from being crushed.  
  
"Are you alright?" he asked, and after seeing her nod, he looked around in confusion as the Velvet room started to warp and shift, the piece of ceiling becoming a bar as soft blue lights appeared overhead, and tables scattered about the room instead of a simple desk. There was also a set of doors, one leading to a black void outside while another seemed to have a light coming from under it as it led to a back room.  
  
All in all, once the change was complete, Akira and Lavenza found themselves standing behind the bar of a tavern, the mirror behind them emblazoned with the Golden V of the Velvet Room's logo. They also saw that there was a stage nearby, where a woman covered her ears as she sang while a blindfolded man played on the piano, making Akira wonder who they were as he looked to Lavenza for answers. As she gave a shrug the door to the backroom then opened, causing the pair to turn to see a tall shadowy figure with golden eyes stare at them.  
  
That was the last thing that Akira saw before he woke up to the feeling of water dripping on his face, though he immediately knew something was off.  
  
For starters, he was no longer in the attic of Le Blanc, and instead in a cell of some sort of dungeon, where he spotted Futaba and Sojiro on the floor nearby unconscious. Second, Morgana was on top of his chest waking up and looking around in a panic as he was still in cat form, instead of the other form he tended to take in the Metaverse. Of course, as he sat up and held the panicked cat close, both he and Morgana said only two words as memories of how they met came to mind and how this sort of resembled another dungeon where he had been imprisoned in the past.  
  
"Not again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, welcome to Aria of the Soul, a Persona 5/Forgotten Realms crossover fic. While the introduction is on the short side, the chapters will get longer over time. 
> 
> Hopefully.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the fic, and comment your thoughts as you read as well! 
> 
> As for trivia, well, the two entertainers that appeared in the Velvet Room as it transformed? Those two are Nameless and Belladonna, a pianist and singer respectively that were in the first two Persona games, I guess you could consider them proto-residents or something.
> 
> Also, I may have been listening to the Smash Ultimate version of the Velvet Room's theme song while writing the change from prison to Tavern.


	2. Killik

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Confused about what is going on, Akira, Sojiro and Futaba try to escape, only to get some aid from a mysterious young man...

Akira and Morgana couldn't believe it.  
  
One moment, they were asleep in Le Blanc's attic, and the next they were waking up in a dungeon. Again. However, while the dungeon looked like it had seen better days, there was something still off about the whole situation.  
  
"Where are we?" Morgana said, before looking at Akira for an answer.  
  
"I don't know," he said before he stood up and set the black cat down and quickly examined his clothes, only to find them to be the same as they were before he woke up in the dungeon cell- a black jacket over a white t-shirt and jeans and black shoes.  
  
As he moved to kneel by Futaba and Sojiro, he shook them gently while Morgana sat on an old chest that soon broke apart with a loud crack, startling both Futaba and Sojiro awake.  
  
"Gah! What was that!?" Futaba said, while Sojiro groaned and rubbed his head as though he had a slight headache.  
  
"What was that noise?" he said a bit more calmly, before looking around to see where they were, "What the... where are we? Is this the Metaverse you two told me about?"  
  
"I don't know," Akira said again, before heading to the bars covering their cell and testing them, "No luck, they're holding fast..."  
  
"How did we even get here?" Sojiro and Futaba then said together, only for Akira to let the cell bars go and turn to face them both,  
  
"What's the last thing you two remember?" he said, causing Futaba to perk up.  
  
"Well, Dad and I went back to playing Neverwinter Nights after you headed upstairs," Futaba said, "When suddenly my computer started smoking and overheating!"  
  
"Yeah," Sojiro said with a sigh, "While Futaba was panicking, there was a bright flash of light and I think I might have hit my head if my head pounding means anything..."  
  
The adult of the group then looked at the broken chest and saw what looked like an old mace inside of it, and moved to pick it up with a groan as he looked between it and the door, only to look around and sigh as he pointed the mace downward and spoke to the group.  
  
"As convenient as a mace is in here, I still get the feeling that swinging in here would be a bad idea..." he said, "Still, we need to get out of here and figure out what to do from there."  
  
"Right," Futaba said before heading to the door and trying her best to peek through the bars, only to let out an annoyed grunt as she added, "Man, I can't see anything out there! It's way too dark!"  
  
"Well, maybe we could try and have someone pick the lock..." Morgana then said, causing Sojiro to jump and look around before laying eyes on the black cat.  
  
"I must have hit my head harder than I thought," he said with a sigh, "I thought I just heard the cat talk."  
  
Futaba and Akira both flinched at this, before exchanging looks as Futaba spoke next.  
  
"You did hear Morgana speak," she said, "I mean, he could talk for a while now, but usually only people who've been exposed to the Metaverse can hear him speak normally."  
  
"So, then we might be in the Metaverse?" Sojiro said before a realization hit him, "This isn't going to be like what happened at Christmas a couple of years ago, is it?"  
  
"I don't know, Dad," Futaba said with a sigh, "I can't sense any shadows in the area with my Persona, and not only are Akira and I's clothes normal, but Morgana looks like an ordinary cat still..."  
  
"You mean he looks different in the Metaverse?" Sojiro said in surprise.  
  
"Yeah, kinda like a mascot character," Akira said with a slight smirk as the cat in question glared at him while Morgana looked more like a loaf of bread while on the ground.  
  
"Still, picking the lock would be a good idea..." Sojiro then said, before looking to Akira, "You do have some lockpicks on hand, right?"  
  
"Yeah," the glasses-wearing boy then said with a nod and walked to the door to try and pick the lock. Unfortunately, while he could reach it by sticking his arm out of the cell and sticking the pick into the lock, he found himself having a bit of trouble maneuvering the thin piece of metal one-handed and unable to see what he was even doing. What's worse, was when he lost his grip on the lockpick, dropping it on the ground with a slight clink.  
  
"Damn," Akira said with a frown as he pulled back into the cell, "This is a lot harder than opening a treasure chest..."  
  
"Not going to ask," Sojiro said flatly as he leaned against the wall, dusting off his apron, "Where did you learn to pick locks anyway?"  
  
"Dad's a locksmith," Akira said, causing Morgana to blink and meow in surprise. And would have said something had there not been a noise nearby- a pounding on wood that caused the group to fall silent, in case of trouble- Sojiro readying the mace he picked up in case of trouble, especially since he didn't think Akira and Futaba had any weapons on them at the moment. Everyone stared at the cell bars in anticipation as they heard a muffled voice say something before it was silent again.  
  
Then, the group felt a strange warmth coming from in front of them, Morgana batting at something with his paw before jumping back over seemingly nothing as the warmth left the cell.  
  
"A bird?" Morgana then said, causing the humans of the group to look at him in confusion, causing the cat to look surprised, "Didn't you guys see the bird? It was huge and blue!"  
  
"We didn't see anything," Akira said, only for Sojiro to cross his arms and frown.  
  
"They do say that cats can see things that we can't," he said, "Maybe-"  
  
Silence again as the sound of a door creaking open on rusted hinges, followed by footsteps and a blue flickering light-headed their way, The entire group held their breath as the footsteps came closer, the sound of boots clicking against the floor becoming clearer and clearer with every step. Sojiro once again readied the mace in his hands, ready to fight back and lead the way out of the dungeon if needed, while Akira and Futaba stayed nearby, mentally preparing themselves for a fight if they were in danger.  
  
Then, a blue flame came into view, flickering in the air as the source of the footsteps came into view, surprising the imprisoned group as they saw a boy about Akira's age on the other side of the cell door, with coal-black skin, long white hair braided into a ponytail and silver eyes. The boy wore a white shirt under a red vest with tan pants and leather boot and overall looked like he was dressed as a character from a fantasy novel. Though, what stood out the most about the young man before them were three things:  
  
One, he had a pair of slim horns sweeping back over his head.  
  
Two, he had a long tail with a spaded tip.  
  
Three, around his left eye, was a blue mark that looked like a long-necked bird preparing to take flight.  
  
"Don't worry," the strange boy said with a smile as the blue flame next to him flickered in mid-air, "I'll get you guys out of here!"

Akira stared at the demonic young man before him, silver eyes locking with his own gray ones for a moment, as there was a sense of mutual confusion between them. Though, as the white-haired boy looked at the rest of Akira's cellmates, he tilted his head slightly while Morgana started growling at him.  
  
"Uh... are you guys alright?" the mysterious boy then asked, causing Sojiro to give a flat look at the young demon before giving his response.  
  
"We're kind of trapped in a cell at the moment, in case you couldn't tell," he said, while the boy gave a flat look in return and was about to say something when he cringed and rubbed his forehead, muttering something under his breath that Akira didn't quite catch. Instead, Killik looked down at the ground and spotted Akira's home-made lockpick, and picked it up to examine it.  
  
"Huh, the craftsmanship's pretty good..." he said as the blue flame providing light in the dark dungeon continued to flicker away before he looked back at the group in the cell. "Mind if I use this to get you guys out?"  
  
"Go ahead, and try," said Morgana, "But if Joker can't do it, then I highly doubt you can!"  
  
The boy flinched and looked uncomfortable at the sight of a talking cat, but said nothing, instead focused on the lock as his tail waved around lazily.  
  
"Hmm... looks like a pretty basic pin tumbler lock..." he mumbled under his breath as Akira did his best to watch him work, and also noticed that he had some thieves tools on his belt- lockpicks, wire cutters, pliers, a small file, a small mirror on a metal handle, a knife at his hip and also a strange-looking device holstered a little behind his back.  
  
"And got it!" the strange boy then said after a click was heard, and he started to pull open the old cell door, causing Morgana's jaw to drop in response.  
  
"H-He got it done!?" the cat said in disbelief, only for Akira to pick him up and look at the blue-eyed cat with a frown.  
  
"You shouldn't doubt others," he said, before following Sojiro and Futaba out of the cell, Futaba examining the strange boy as Sojiro stood near the wall, Mace in hand as he glared at the hero of the hour, just in case he tried something with his daughter, most likely.  
  
"Hey, what are you?" Futaba then asked while the strange boy seemed uncomfortable, "Some sort of cognition based puppet?"  
  
"Uh... pretty sure I'm real, lady," he said, his tail moving away from Futaba as she tried to grab it, "A-And hands off the tail! You seem way too young to be into stuff like that!"  
  
"Stuff like _what?"_ Sojiro asked darkly, glaring even more at the focus of his daughter's attention.  
  
"Uh... we-well..." the strange boy stammered, moving away from Futaba when she tried to touch him again, "A-Anyway, who are you people?"  
  
"Sojiro Sakura," the bearded man said coldly, "The girl is my daughter, Futaba and the boy is a friend of hers, Akira Kurusu."  
  
"And the... cat?" the boy said as he seemed very uncomfortable now that Akira was next to him, holding the black and white cat in his arms for the moment.  
  
"I am the great Morgana," The cat said, only for the strange boy to not show any emotion for a moment, before he finally introduced himself.  
  
"I'm Killik Rydrion, and I gotta know how you guys got into the ruins in the first place," he said, before looking at each member of the group of humans and feline as he waited for an answer.  
  
"We woke up here," Akira said, "We don't know how we got here in the first place."  
  
"I see," Killik then said as he crossed his arms, "Man, that's weird, but... I've seen weird before, so I'm going help you guys get out of here."  
  
"Aren't you worried about any guards catching us?" Sojiro said, "And what do you mean you've seen weird before?"  
  
"Eh, I see ghosts and things all the time," Killik said with a shrug, causing the group to look surprised before the demonic boy started walking. The rest of the group soon followed, not wanting to be left behind in unknown territory.  
  
Though, while Sojiro decided to try and chat with Killik, Akira and Futaba held up the rear and decided to try and assess the situation with Morgana.  
  
"So, think he's a shadow?" Morgana then asked, only for Futaba to shake her head.  
  
"No, his eyes are completely the wrong color for one- silver instead of yellow," she then said, only for a voice to interrupt her before she could continue her thoughts.  
  
"Well, of course, I'm not a shadow, I'm a fey'ri," Killik said, causing the humans and cat to look at him in confusion.  
  
"What's a fey'ri?" Futaba then asked, getting an interesting glint in her eyes as Killik put his hands behind his horned head and looked up at the ceiling.  
  
"Just a hybrid between elf and demon," Killik said, before he quickly added, "Also, I'm not a bad guy despite the demon thing, my partner makes sure of that."  
  
"Your partner?" Sojiro asked as Killik started moving again, only for the demonic elf to grin as he answered.  
  
"Maybe I'll introduce you guys to him later," he said, "He's a bit wary of strangers, especially cats."  
  
"Why would your partner be wary of cats?" Akira then asked, only for Killik to flinch a bit as he realized that the glasses-wearing boy was right next to him now.  
  
"Uh... it's a long story and I'd rather not talk about it right now!" Killik said and started moving a little more quickly than before. There was silence following soon after with Akira feeling on edge as he walked through the halls after Killik, being sure not to wander off in case of trouble and personally wishing he had something on hand to defend himself with in case of trouble. Sure, he wasn't in his phantom thief outfit, but he also wasn't sure if he and Futaba could actually access their Personas at all in this place.  
  
Then again, he still wondered how they got to this ruin in the first place.  
  
As he tried to think, his mind wandered to Lavenza in the Velvet Room. Was she alright in there? The place did abruptly change after all from what he remembered from his most recent visit, and the tall shadow that had come in from another part of the Velvet Room, as well as those two strange entertainers that had appeared in the Velvet Room as well. Would Lavenza be alright in there? Or would she be split once again into Caroline and Justine because of some sinister force?  
  
Before he could ruminate further on these questions, Akira felt himself being grabbed from behind, only to stop and see he had almost stepped into a pit that crossed the entire hallway. As Morgana had moved to rest on his shoulders, he and the cat then looked down and saw what looked like spikes lining the pit as he felt himself being pulled back.  
  
"That was close," Morgana then said while Akira nodded in agreement, Of course, as the group noticed that the pit was too wide to jump across, Especially since there was a lever on the other side by a door.  
  
"Well, this looks like a dead-end," Sojiro said as he watched Killik reach behind his back and pull out a device that looked like a gun with a claw sticking out of it, something that Akira immediately recognized as some sort of grappling hook.  
  
"Don't worry, there's a trick to this," Killik then said while aiming at the lever and firing the grappling hook at it. Once the hook's claw grappled onto it, he gave the chain it was attached to a tug, pulling the lever down. There was a creaking of gears following afterward, which led to a stone bridge extending across the pit.  
  
"That's pretty clever," both Sojiro and Morgana said, causing Killik to flinch and give an awkward smile towards the group.  
  
"Truth is, I come here a lot," Killik said as he crossed the newly formed bridge, "Also the bridge is on a timer, so best get across quickly."  
  
With that said, the group quickly crossed the bridge, with Sojiro having to jump across at the last moment, only to sigh and catch his breath.  
  
"I never thought I'd have to do something like this today," he said before looking at Akira and his daughter, "I take it you two are used to this?"  
  
"Yeah," Akira said, helping Sojiro off the ground while Futaba held Morgana in her arms. Killik however, said nothing, and instead led the group up a set of stairs that had some light at the top.  
  
When they reached the source of the light, they found themselves in what looked like an overgrown entrance hall, with bits of marble scattering the grassy floor. There were also thorny vines covering the stone walls and dotted with blue and white roses while sunlight filtered through holes in the walls and ceiling. Though, the most stunning features were the broken stairs leading up to another floor of the ruined castle, and a statue in the middle of the hall showing two elves dancing- one a hooded man and golden thorny bracelets on his wrist and the other a woman with long hair and blue roses on silver jewelry.  
  
"Wow..." Futaba said while Killik started crossing the entrance hall, going passed the vine-covered entrance and to a hole at the side while the rest of the group once again followed the guy who seemed to know what he was doing, "This place looks like something out of a videogame..."  
  
"Yeah, " Akira said as he glanced around the entrance hall, once again being reminded of his first foray into the Metaverse. Still, as he glanced at Sojiro, he noticed the man looking at the statue as he looked like he was trying to remember something.  
  
"Something on your mind?" Akira said, causing the older man to flinch and shake his head.  
  
"No, its nothing," he said, "Just feel like I might have been here before, even though I haven't."  
  
"Maybe in a game with Wakaba?" Akira said, causing the older man to pause in thought before shrugging.  
  
"Maybe," he said before the two headed towards the hole in the wall and crawled through it, with Aira hoping that maybe, just maybe they'd be brought back to reality and see what Killik might actually look like in the real world.  
  
Instead, they found themselves outside the ruined and overgrown castle, surrounded by trees and more blue and white roses scattered about.  
  
"Where are we?" Akira then asked Killik who seemed a bit distracted by something.  
  
"Huh?" he said before the question registered and he looked up at the sky, "Oh, we're in the Riftwood, located near the Great Rift in the Eastern Shaar of Faerun."  
  
Akira said nothing, only getting the feeling that this was going to be a very, very long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, meet the first OC of the fic, Killik. Over on Spacebattles, this is actually split into two chapters, but I decided to combine them here on AO3.
> 
> Now, Killik is a Fey'ri, or what happens when an elf gets a demon in their family tree/the elven version of a teifling. He's a good kid, but he also has a secret... anyone care to guess what it is?
> 
> And why did Morgana see a bird when no one else could? Could it be a new power of the cat? Or is something else going on?
> 
> Anyway, next time, we'll see what's going on with the rest of the Phantom Thieves. Oh, and Akechi.


	3. Other Thieves, Other Places

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened to the other Phantom Thieves after Akira, Morgana, and Futaba wound up in the Riftwood...

Ryuji Sakamoto was in his bedroom doing his favorite thing besides running or thinking about being a phantom thief again- and that was playing videogames instead of studying. He was playing a game where he was going through an underground cavern fighting demons. He was having a blast as time flew by him once again, and it looked like this would turn into an all-nighter later on on the day.  
  
And then the power went out, just as he defeated the boss.  
  
"What? No!" he said as he looked at the TV in horror, "Oh man, I forgot to save my game... I'm going to have to do that level all over again!"  
  
He stood up and tried to turn his tv on again, hoping that this was just a fluke, only for nothing to happen.  
  
"Hey mom?" he called as he headed to the door of his bedroom, "Mom, is the power out anywhere else?"  
  
No answer. That was weird, his mother normally was home this time of day, As he neared the door, worry started to fill Ryuji's mind as he wondered what was going on, fearing that something was wrong as he touched the door. Then, he felt momentarily dizzy, something that sent alarm bells through his mind as he pulled it open, remembering the first time he entered the Metaverse.  
  
Instead of his family's apartment, Ryuji instead found a dead, dark forest.  
  
"What the fuck?" Ryuji said in confusion before he pulled his phone out of his pocket to see if he was in the Metaverse again, "No signal? Hmm... that's kind of normal but..."  
  
He then tried to take a picture of the area with his phone's camera, and to his surprise, it worked!  
  
"Okay, definitely not the Metaverse..." he said as he recalled how no applications worked in the Metaverse for some reason or another, "Just where am I?"  
  
He started walking through the dead forest, finding a path pretty quickly as he looked around and spotted a cave nearby. However, with how quiet it was, and how creepy the whole area happened to be, he decided not to go into the cave and go in the opposite direction, hoping to find a way out of the dead area and maybe find someone who could tell him where he was and how he might be able to get home.  
  
"I swear," he said to himself, "If it turns out I'm in one of those isekai stories, I'm going to be ticked off!"  
  
As he walked through the dead forest path, he couldn't help but feel like he was on edge throughout the whole time, feeling like there was something evil lingering in the area that made him feel a bit sick to his stomach. Almost as if there was something actually preventing the forest from growing back, poisoning the land.  
  
"Wonder what happened here?" he asked himself as he noticed the area around him slowly come back to life as he ventured further and further from the cave, the feeling of pure evil accompanying the dead forest also fading as he started to feel at ease. As Ryuji continued to walk and feel more and more at ease, he honestly tried to figure out what was going on. Was he dreaming?  
  
He pinched himself and flinched, no, definitely not a dream.  
  
Finally, he spotted a pair of people coming towards him, dressed in green leather armor and holding swords, both pointing their weapons at him.  
  
"Hey, can you t--" Ryuji tried to say, only for one of the men to speak as the dyed-blonde boy noticed that both men had pointed ears.  
  
"Put your hands up, human, and come with us. You're under arrest for trespassing!"

~0~

Ann Takamaki couldn't help but feel annoyed as she heard the creaking of wood and the sound of hooves and boots on a road. Did she leave the TV on while she slept for a bit before a major shoot?  
  
As she opened her blue eyes, the pale blonde realized that she was in some sort of covered wagon with three other girls- one a child, one a muscular woman covered in chains and the third a beautiful looking woman with black hair that sort of reminded Ann of Mika.  
  
What's more, all of them were chained to the wagon's floor, including herself.  
  
"What the, what's going on!?" she said, only for the muscular woman, a red-head to speak.  
  
"So, you're finally awake, are you?" said the redheaded and scarred woman, "I'm Monica, the others are Mary- the beauty, and Trisha, the kid. Who are you?"  
  
"I'm Ann Takamaki," the model then said, "And... what is going on? How did I even get here?"  
  
"The bad guys found you on the side of the road asleep," Little Trisha then said quietly, the brunette looking frightened as she looked to Ann, only for Mary to speak up.  
  
"Hmph," she said, "We're all going to the same place now, so why should we even get to know each other?"  
  
"Because it's the only thing we can do," Monica said, glaring at Mary before looking back at Ann, "Any idea why you were sleeping in the middle of the field, Ann?"  
  
"No, not at all," Ann then said, "The last thing I remember was being in my room and taking a nap, I don't even know how I ended up where I did."  
  
"I see," Monica said, getting a grim look on her face, "Well, whatever the reason, you're with us now, Ann, and-"  
  
The wagon then stopped, and as Ann was closest to the driver, she decided to peek out of the wagon to see what was going on. To her, she saw what looked like a person standing in the middle of the road, holding an axe as she thought she heard someone scuttle around the side of the wagon, despite not seeing anything.  
  
"Hey, get out of the road!" she heard the driver say to the stranger, "I got some precious cargo to take to Veldorn!"  
  
The stranger said nothing, instead just brandishing his axe as he looked passed the driver and straight at Ann, the blonde for a moment feeling a sense of dread. Then, the figure threw his weapon at the driver, striking him in the chest. Frightened, Ann retreated into the wagon as the sounds of battle broke out around the wagon. She wanted to fight as well, but she couldn't really move thanks to the chains on her wrists and ankles. All she could do was crouch down in the middle of the wagon with her body covering Trisha's and Monica shielding them both with her muscular body while Mary merely crouched down next to them. Ann shut her eyes and felt Trisha hug her body and cry as Ann hugged her back, doing her best to keep the child safe.  
  
Then, there was silence.  
  
"Is... Is it over?" Ann whispered to Monica, who looked on in worry as she glanced around the wagon.  
  
"Don't know," the larger woman whispered back, just as footsteps moved nearer to the group with each passing second, Ann seeing a large shadow displayed on the wagon's cover as well.  
  
She blinked and watched as the cover was ripped off the wagon, letting her see the face of the battle's winner- a tall, muscular man with greenish skin, dark brown hair, and what looked like small tusks growing from his mouth.  
  
All Ann could do was scream.

~0~

Yusuke was working on his next piece of art in his college dorms, the young man's subject being a little lizard that decided to camp out outside his window. Of course, as he focused on the little lizard's scales, he noticed them shimmering in the light as he did his best to recreate that shine in his painting.  
  
He never noticed that his surroundings changed from his dorm room to an alleyway until he looked back at his subject, only to find the lizard and the rest of his room missing and that he was now surrounded by what looked like bipedal lizards wearing robes as he stood in the center of a pentagram with his painting.  
  
"Well, this is strange," he said calmly before he did a couple more dabs of paint onto his canvas, only for one of the lizardmen to walk up to him and lower its hood, the three-foot-tall lizard clearing their throat.  
  
"Please help us," they said, causing Yusuke to look at the lizard and blink at them.  
  
"Pardon?" he said, "Help you with what?"  
  
"Help us learn art!" the lizards said together, before kneeling before Yusuke.  
  
This... was going to be a very weird day.

~0~

Makoto Niijima groaned as she woke up, her head pounding as she tried to remember what had happened. The last thing she could recall was studying in the library of her college when she suddenly felt dizzy and passed out. She expected to be in her college's infirmary at least, however as she sat up she realized she wasn't at her college at all, but instead what looked like a lavish bedroom with lavender walls, stone floors covered in what looked like an old rug and two very comfy beds.  
  
In the other bed, she saw the body of her older sister, causing Makoto to get up and rush over to her sister's side.  
  
"Sis? Sis wake up!" she then said, causing Sae to groan as she opened her reddish eyes- a trait the two girls shared as the grey-haired woman slowly sat up and held her head.  
  
"Makoto?" she said in a daze as she sat up and shook her head, "What's going on?"  
  
"I don't know," Makoto said before looking around the room again, before spotting a window looking outside, "Hold on, I think I can get an idea of where we are from that window over there."  
  
Heading towards the east wall, Makoto and also Sae looked outward and saw that not only was a balcony attached to the large window, but outside was not Japan, but what looked like a city from a fantasy story.  
  
"What...what is this?" Sae said, before smoothing out her slightly wrinkled pantsuit, and noticing her shoes were missing before spotting them by the bed. As Makoto adjusted her blouse, she also found herself barefoot and noticed the boots she wore was by her bed, most likely whoever brought them there took them off to keep dirt off the beds. Of course, it was then that the ornately carved doors opened, revealing a young man a little younger than Makoto entering the room with a tiger-headed guard.  
  
While the guard wore dark green and white armor, the boy looked even stranger! He had short snow-white hair, and coal-black skin as well as silver eyes. As he stood regally in his red tunic over a white, short-sleeved shirt, Makoto also noticed that the boy had what looked like short fins on his forearms and pointed ears that looked a little bit serrated on the edges. He had on a pair of gold bracelets and he also had a simple circlet on his head made out of silver. Though he looked like a prince from a storybook, the boy with what looked like a permanent frown on his face merely stared at the two young women as they stared back at him in confusion.  
  
"Who are you?" Makoto then said, while the boy merely walked towards them and crossed his arms, still looking annoyed about something.  
  
"Prince Aurin of New De'Var," he then said with a polite bow, "And you two would be, who, exactly?"  
  
The two sisters looked to each other as if silently deciding who between them would answer the creepy looking fish boy.  
  
"I am Sae Niijima, and this is my little sister, Makoto," the older of the two sisters then said, "How did we get to this city, exactly?"  
  
"That's what we're trying to figure out," Aurin then said, "According to witness testimony, you two were found in the Memorial Park over in the Whitewood District of the City, unconscious, of course."  
  
"Did anyone see who brought us here, or why we were left in the middle of a park?" Makoto then asked, only for Aurin to look straight at her with his silver eyes.  
  
"No, witness reports said you two simply appeared out of nowhere," Aurin said flatly as he gave the two a glare, "The guards and one of the local clerics in the city had to examine you both to make sure you weren't a danger to the city- we found no signs of Undeath on either of you nor any signs of vampirism either. However, because you two seemed to have teleported into the city, my father has decided to keep an eye on you both by letting you two stay in the castle under guard."  
  
"Your father?" Sae said in surprise, "And why isn't the King of this castle here to speak with us?"  
  
"He's busy running a city," Aurin said flatly, "As a result, I'm to be in charge of any interrogation taking place."  
  
"This is ridiculous!" Sae said, "I don't know what's going on, but holding my sister and me hostage just because you find us suspicious? Why not let us go free and find our way back home?"  
  
"Because the city is dangerous to humans like you two," Aurin said as he crossed his arms again, "Father is just trying to do his best to keep you two protected from some maniac obsessed with killing supposed vampires without any evidence."  
  
Both of the Niijima sisters fell silent at that, not only because it sounded insane, but considering the current situation, it also sounded scarily plausible as well.  
  
"Sis," Makoto then whispered after a moment, "I think we might be in the Metaverse."  
  
"The Metaverse?" Aurin then asked, raising an eyebrow before pointing at his ear, "My ears aren't just for show, I can still hear you when you whisper."  
  
"O-Oh," Makoto said, blushing a bit from embarrassment. In all her time as a Phantom Thief, she honestly never expected a native of the Metaverse to question it while inside the place, and it was kind of weird to her for it to happen. Maybe, this wasn't the Metaverse after all, and instead, this was some sort of other world? If so, then how did she and her sister get there?  
  
"So, what is this Metaverse, exactly?" Aurin then asked, causing Makoto to snap out of her thoughts.  
  
"It's... another world that reflects a person's heart based on their cognition of the world around them," Makoto said, causing Aurin to raise his eyebrow again, did he even believe her?  
  
"I highly doubt this is some Cognitive Plane," he then said flatly, only for the guard to whisper something in the prince's ear, "It seems that I must be going, I'll leave you two to your own devices, though do be aware that you're under guard at the moment, so try not to get yourselves hurt by attempting escape or something."  
  
With that, the cold-hearted prince then left the room with his guard, leaving the Niijima sisters alone to exchange a worried look as they realized they were most likely in deep trouble.

~0~

Haru Okumura had no idea how she ended up in the middle of a field that was growing summer vegetables such as squash and cucumber and even what looked like okra and strawberries as well. As she carefully walked through the fields, being careful not accidentally crush any of the crops with her dainty feet, the young woman in pastel clothes soon spotted someone working the feels, pulling up weeds.  
  
"Um, excuse me!" she called out, getting the young man's attention, only to notice that he was dressed like a medieval European farmer- a straw hat with a white shirt with hide pants and brown boots. As he stood up straight and looked at Haru, he seemed to be much taller than her, and had short blond hair under his hat as well as blue eyes. In a way, he looked rather handsome to Haru, before she quickly decided to try and ask the man a question.  
  
"Excuse me, but could you tell me where I am? I seem to be a bit lost!" she said shyly, causing the man to smile a bit awkwardly as he wiped the sweat off his brow.  
  
"Oh, you're on the Nettle Family Farm," he said, "I'm Kent, the eldest son, are you alright ma'am? You're not hurt, are ya?"  
  
"Oh, no, I'm perfectly fine!" she said with a smile, feeling relieved that this young man was rather polite, "Can you tell me where the Farm is?"  
  
"Oh, you don't know?" Kent said in surprise, "You're in the Eastern Shaar of Faerun, though, I gotta admit, you dress um... a bit strange that's for sure."  
  
As Haru saw he was blushing, the young woman turned away as she blushed as well. Was she really dressed that weird to him? Then again, she probably ended up in the Metaverse somehow... it wouldn't be the first time after all that this happened. Of course, this young man's blue eyes didn't look like empty like in the Metaverse's more ordinary puppets of a Palace's ruler, in fact, they seemed very much full of life!  
  
"Um, something on my face?" he then said awkwardly, drawing Haru back to reality.  
  
"Oh! Um, n-no, not at all, I was just thinking about something, that's all." Haru then said, "Oh! I just realized I haven't introduced myself- I am Haru Okumura, it's nice to meet you, Kent!"  
  
"L-Likewise, Miss Haru," Kent said, blushing even more now, "Um... a-anyway, how did a pretty lady like you end up in my family's field?"  
  
"Uh... I'm not really sure," Haru said, "One moment I was on my way to my classes, and the next thing I know, I'm here,"  
  
"Sounds like magic to me," Kent then said, "Though, you should probably be careful. If you want, we can give you a place to stay until you can figure out a way back."  
  
"Oh thank you!" Haru said with a smile, "Is there any way I can help around the farm until I get my bearings?"  
  
"Oh! Um.... you should really talk to Pa about that," Kent said before he rubbed the back of his neck, "He's currently In the farmhouse right now, if you want, I could take you there."  
  
"I would like that very much, thank you," Haru said with a nod, and so Kent politely led the way to the farmhouse in the distance, with Haru knowing full well that things were bound to be interesting in her life again.

~0~

Goro Akechi's head pounded and spun. He couldn't remember what he was doing before he fell unconscious. As he struggled to get up, he found himself collapsing onto the sand beneath him as he felt water splash over his aching body, the saltiness of it also causing a wound in his side to burn with pain.  
  
He cringed and let out a scream as he moved to hold his side, cringing as he gritted his teeth to keep a second scream from escaping his lips.  
  
His red eyes opened as he saw someone blurred by his tears head his way, though he couldn't make them out fully, he could see they had long hair that was... purple?  
  
"Where... am I?" Akechi then said, only for the pain to become too much to bear as he passed back out into unconsciousness.  
  


~0~

All she wanted to do was go to Yongen-Jaya and visit Le Blanc.  
  
As Sumire Yoshizawa blinked when she reached the cafe in question, she suddenly found herself in an arena with two figures staring at her and the walls lined with shards of something scattered about. She didn't know what was going on, all she knew was that one fighter had a pair of swords in his hand while the other was driving some sort of mech suit.  
  
What's more, was that they were soon joined by a third figure- a tiger-headed man with an eyepatch jumping down from a special box with a roar. Sumire was frightened as he called off the fight, looking around with a crossbow in his hands as he seemed to try and find the source of whoever or whatever had brought her to this arena.  
  
"Someone get this interloper out of the ring!" the tiger-man roared, only for a hooded young man to stumble into the arena and grab Sumire's arm.  
  
"R-Right away, Ramirez, sir!" the young man said, though Sumire couldn't make out the young man's features, she figured he seemed to be human as he escorted Sumire out, mumbling under his breath that things would be alright.  
  
All Sumire could really catch as she passed by the tiger-man was that he mumbled only four words as she passed by.  
  
 _"This shouldn't be possible..."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, let's break this down section by section, shall we?
> 
> Ryuji: Of course he's playing video games before getting warped away, and of course he also gets into trouble as well. Poor guy just can't catch a break, can he?
> 
> Ann: While we don't see the exact moment she got teleported, we do see the aftermath- which I just realized may be an accidental shoutout to a certain Skyrim meme. Shit. But on the bright side, she does get freed from a potentially dark fate... though whether the heroic half-orc is good or bad is yet to be seen...
> 
> Yusuke: Yeah. He gets a silly situation because, for some reason, I felt it would fit Yusuke somehow.
> 
> Makoto and Sae: So, the Niijima sisters end up in a castle, and talk to a fishy prince. However, the vampire thing is important and will be touched on later on in the story. Though I will say this- the incident that led to the Vampire Paranoia did take away someone very close to Aurin...
> 
> Haru: Yeah. She's pretty much in the least amount of danger at the moment, and I felt her interaction with Kent Nettle was kind of cute. 
> 
> Akechi: Yes. This is the REAL Akechi, not his Cognitive Clone. Yes. Akechi ends up on a tropical island with a potentially beautiful woman living there to tend to his wounds. No, he does not get out of this completely unscathed.
> 
> Sumire: Yes, she gets dragged in too. And she's probably in the most danger out of all the thieves, though there is a good mystery of who the hooded man who escorted her out of the arena might be. 
> 
> Eh, maybe we'll find out later if I don't forget about him.


	4. Riftwood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira and Co arrive in the Riftwood, but it seems a friend of his is already in trouble...

The walk from the ruins only took half an hour, but during it, the group of Akira, Morgana, Futaba, and Sojiro couldn't help but reel from the fact that they were in another world. None of them paid attention when Killik explained who owned the tower with a crystal dome on top of it to them as they passed by it, instead focusing on their current situation. They were effectively stranded in another world, with seemingly no way home to Japan, and what's more, there was a chance they could be in the Metaverse as well. No one knew what was going on or why just that they were basically stuck.  
  
"Hey, are you guys alright?" Killik then said to them as they neared what looked like a village.  
  
"Not really," Futaba said as she noticed the village, "Hey, humans are okay to be here, right?"  
  
"Well, we get Human visitors every now and then, and we have a dwarf living here too," Killik said with a shrug, "And there's also some renegade Drow living among the elves too."  
  
"Renegade Drow?" Sojiro said in surprise, "But as I recall, Drow are the bad elves, aren't they?"  
  
"Well, they are but..." Killik said, "Lately some drow have been ditching the Underdark and its evil Goddess, no one knows why though, but I kind of feel that some things are best left unknown."  
  
"I see," Sojiro said as they kept walking into the village, before stopping by a house that looked like a gigantic tree stump with a pointed top like a stalagmite. Though Akira thought he saw something in a window for a moment, only to be distracted as the door to the house opened to reveal what looked like a pale blue-skinned elf wearing leather armor, a gold bracelet with a pale purple gem, and a dark green cloak around their shoulders. Though, as Akira saw that their white hair was covering one of the elf's silver eyes when they got closer, he couldn't help but guess that this person was somehow related to Killik.  
  
"Killik Alakven Rydrion!" the seemingly male elf then said, their voice androgynous to Akira, before noticing that Killik now stood rigid as if he was expecting trouble as the blue elf continued, "Where have you been? I've been trying to contact you all day, and I find out you left your Kinderstone at home!"  
  
"Sorry mom," Killik said, surprising the rest of the group, "I... just needed some time to myself, so I went to the ruins near Kinder's tower, that's where I found these humans and their... cat..., and decided to bring them to the village so they could rest up and regroup."  
  
"I see," Legode then said, before something registered on her face as she looked at Morgana, "I'm surprised your handling yourself around the cat."  
  
"Y-Yeah, I am too," Killik said nervously, "A-Anyway, I'm going to go into the house to check on Em, can you lead these people to the temple?"  
  
"Of course," the apparent woman then said, watching as her son went into the house. Though, once the group was alone with the woman, she quickly crossed her arms and introduced herself.  
  
"I am Legode Rydrion, the local druid," she said plainly, "May I ask who you are and what you were doing in the ruins?"  
  
"I am Sojiro Sakura," the barista then said, "These kids with me are my daughter Futaba and her friend, Akira, and of course Akira's cat, Morgana. We didn't mean to intrude, but we simply woke up in the ruins earlier. We honestly don't know how we got there."  
  
"I see," Legode then said with a sigh, "Well, I'll guide you to the Temple of Corellon, hopefully, Eramor will be able to out how to help you get back to where you belong."  
  
"Thank you," Sojiro then said with a smile, "Your son really helped us out, then again, you probably taught him well."  
  
"Thank you," Legode said with a smile of her own, "Though, how did my son help you? I've been to the ruins and there's really no threats lurking in there."  
  
"He broke us out of a cell we were stuck in!" Futaba then said, causing Legode to sigh.  
  
"I should have known my father's training would be involved...." she said, causing Akira to raise an eyebrow as he spoke to her.  
  
"Training?" he asked, leading to Legode to walk and talk at the same time through the village.  
  
"My father's a rogue and a pretty good one at that. Killik looks up to his grandfather and so, Father chose to train Killik in his ways in his spare time at my son's request," she said before her bracelet's purple gem started to blink. "Oh, what could it be this time?"  
  
She tapped the stone and spoke to it, "Legode here, what's going on?"  
  
Surprisingly a voice ended up coming from the stone itself, that of a deep-sounding man.  
  
 _"Legode, this is Zanfalcon. Ianxalim and I found a human in the forbidden area of the Riftwood. However, he's very hostile and needs to be restrained so that Eramor can interrogate him. I hate to ask this of you, but... can you come to the temple and keep this human calm or something?"_  
  
"I'm not that kind of druid, but I'll see what I can do," Legode said, "However, I have a group of humans in need of guidance after being helped by my son, Killik, so I'll be bringing them to the temple as well."  
  
 _"Of course the demon finds trouble,"_ Zanfalcon muttered, causing Legode to glare at her bracelet as she spoke again.  
  
"What was that?" she asked, "I don't think I heard you quite so clearly."  
  
 _"Nothing, just get here, Druid, or else this human mi---"  
  
"Hey man! Get the eff off of me! I don't need to be drugged or whatever you're thinking, because I keep telling you, that I didn't know I wasn't supposed to be in that dead area!"_  
  
The new voice was enough to get Akira's attention as he recognized it.  
  
"Ryuji?" he said, only for Legode to catch the name and speak once more.  
  
"Listen, Ryuji, was it?, If you can hear me, then know that I'm bringing someone that might know you, so please calm down and just... play along for now, ok?" she said, only for Ryuji's voice to come through the stone again.  
  
 _"Listen, dude, I don't know what the eff is going on, but if you say someone might know me, then they can vouch for me and get me out of here!"_  
  
"Don't worry, everything will be fine, I promise," Legode said before swiping her finger over the stone to end the call. She then looked to the group of humans and cat with her and added, "Let's get going."  
  
"Yeah," Akira said with a nod and started following after the blue elven woman, Sojiro and Futaba in tow as he held Morgana.  
  
"Why am I not surprised that Ryuji is in trouble again?" Morgana then said haughtily, before snickering could be heard behind the group, "Wh-what was that!?"  
  
"Oh be quiet, Morgana," Legode then said, "That's just my partner, Yethrys being a _bunjiro_ again."  
  
"What's a bunjiro?" Sojiro then asked in confusion, only for Legode to chuckle again.  
  
"It means asshole," she said with a smile, as a large wolf covered in bony plates appeared before the group, his glowing yellow eyes holding a hint of mirth in them as he snickered again. The wolf seemed to growl something, which caused Legode to blush and swat the beast's nose while Morgana got an irritated look on his face.  
  
"I don't like that wolf," Morgana said flatly, while Akira merely stared at the beast as he moved to walk next to Legode.  
  
As the group moved through the town, they saw quite a few sights- half of the buildings were actually one with the various trees scattered about, while other buildings looked to be built from wood and stone. There was even a bearded dwarf working at her forge, which nearly caused Futaba to separate from the group to go ask questions.  
  
Still, Akira had something else on his mind, mainly the fact that Legode seemingly understood what Morgana was saying, then again, she also seemed to understand what her partner said, so it could have been a quirk of being an elf.  
  
"So, you understand Morgana?" he said, catching Legode's attention as she turned to look over her shoulder at the human boy.  
  
"Of course I can, what self-respecting druid can't understand animals?" she said, before stopping to wave at the dwarf who was waving at the group on her own.  
  
"You know the dwarf?" Sojiro then asked, causing Legode to nod her head.  
  
"Yes," she said, "That's Adelaide Ironforge, a local blacksmith and Killik's employer. She sometimes sells her weapons through her sister Bryndielle's shop in New De'Var."  
  
"New De'Var?" Sojiro asked, raising an eyebrow, "What's that place like?"  
  
"It's a city a couple of miles from the edge of the Riftwood," Legode said, "A city of outcasts and monsters ruled by King Turil."  
  
"Wait, _monsters!?_ " Sojiro said in surprise, causing Legode to frown as she kept walking.  
  
"I'm an elf, and you're surprised monsters are a thing?" she asked dryly, "You and your companions really must be Outsiders... though, the fact you're all dressed strangely probably would tip people off as well."  
  
Sojiro said nothing at that, nor did Futaba, Akira, or Morgana as they soon reached the temple. It was a beautiful building like the rest of the village, the only stone building that seemed formed from solid rock and carved intricately with various designs all surrounding a great tree that was shaped like a giant bird. As the group entered the temple, they saw the white stone was carved with murals depicting an elven man fighting some sort of monster, both spilling their blood in battle as two races spawned from the fallen drops of blood- beautiful elves and horrid monsters.  
  
"Woah...." Futaba said, looking a bit excited as she examined the murals and also saw spaces within the temple filled with grass and a couple of smaller trees as well, though as they entered what looked like a main hall of sorts, with the giant bird-tree in the center of the green space where an altar had been set up at the tree's roots. It was there, that the group saw two armored elves- one with long brown hair the other with short black hair wrestling down a tied up human with short, yellow hair and wearing a red T-shirt with a pair of jeans and a pair of white slippers on his feet.  
  
As the humans and cat in the group recognized Ryuji, they also saw that he was struggling against some rope tied around his body while the brown-haired elven man held the boy down onto his knees.  
  
"Hey, let me the eff go, will ya!?" Ryuji then said as he growled in pain.  
  
"Shut it, human," the elf then said, his voice sounding much like the mysterious Zanfalcon Legode had spoken too through her bracelet.  
  
"Zanfalcon Duskwalker, what are you doing!?" said a new voice, a very feminine one belonging to a beautiful elven woman with noticeable curves that would make a professional model feel jealous. Of course, while the curves were mostly hidden beneath a bright azure robe while a silver circlet was shining her head. As her green eyes glared at the scene before her, it was clear that this brown-haired woman was highly unamused at the situation at hand.  
  
"L-Lady Bethany!" Zanfalcon then said as he saluted the woman while his silent partner Ianxalim merely held the rope currently binding Ryuji, "I was just trying to keep this human we found restrained until your father could cast Detect Evil on him!"  
  
"Wait, what?" Ryuji then asked, while the woman sighed and held out a hand before muttering something under her breath. After that, she seemed to stare at him for a moment, before looking annoyed and moved her gaze to Zanfalcon.  
  
"He's clean and also of the living if you wanted me to check that as well," she said, before turning to the rest of the group and smiling, "Oh, Legode! How are you doing?"  
  
"I'm fine mother," Legode said with a sigh, causing Ryuji's eyes to widen in surprise, "How is grandfather doing?"  
  
"Eramor is doing well," Bethany said, before catching a surprised look from Sojiro, "Oh, pardon me sir, is something wrong?"  
  
"No, it's nothing," Sojiro said, rubbing his head, "Listen, ma'am, your daughter was kind enough to bring us here so that Eramor could help us out, do you think you can get him for us?"  
  
"Hey, who exactly is Eramor?" Ryuji then asked, while Akira and Futaba merely looked behind the blond in worry, as standing there was an elven man with a few wrinkles on his face and graying brown hair tied up in a high ponytail wearing an azure surcoat decorated with a crescent moon over a white shirt and leather pants.  
  
"That would be me," the elderly elf then said, looking quite annoyed about something, "Now, could someone please explain to me what exactly is going on here?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter reveals some of Killik's relatives, ok so it's his mom and grandma, but still. Now, here's some trivia for ya- Legode Rydrion was the first character I ever made in Neverwinter Nights, one of my favorite games of all time. Her partner, Yethrys is a Dire Wolf and I managed to get her to Epic Levels before my old Laptop died, and sadly the one I'm writing on now probably can't handle the game as it stands.
> 
> But yeah, Legode is a druid and her favorite spell is Flame Lash from NWN, which can come in handy at times.
> 
> Bethany Glyder on the other hand, is Legode's mother (and Killik's Grandma), she is a Cleric of Corellon and as can be seen in the story, very um... well endowed...
> 
> When I used her in NWN, she once punched a dragon to death. Ever since, I've used that incident to register how strong she is, so... yeah. Do not mess with this cleric!
> 
> Also, as for why Killik is uncomfortable around Morgana? I'll leave that up to y'all to figure out.
> 
> As for Killik's job for Adelaide Ironforge, well, that will come up later, but I will say that he works for scrap metal as well as some money...
> 
> Next time, we get a better idea of what Eramor is like, and Akira and Ryuji catch up a bit...


	5. Eramor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryuji just can't stay out of trouble, can he?

"Well?" Eramor said in annoyance when no one answered his question, the current scene before him of a human being restrained while other humans weren't not boring well for the outsiders of Riftwood Village. As he tapped his foot on the ground, it was clear that the elderly elf was starting to get impatient, and so it was up to Bethany to explain.  
  
"Well, Father," the beautiful brunette then said sheepishly as she pointed to Ryuji, "This boy was found wandering in the forbidden area of the Riftwood."  
  
"Fiend's Cavern!?" Eramor said in surprise, before looking to Ryuji and getting a gentle look as he spoke to the blond, "Can you please tell me why you were there?"  
  
Ryuji was surprised by the gentle firmness of the older elf, having expected more pain and yelling like the other two elves who had him tied up, but as Akira and his companions watched, the punk started to relax as he finally got to explain his side of things.  
  
"I don't really know how I got there," he said, while Eramor listened intently, "All I know is that I was in my room one moment, and the next thing I know, I'm in a dead forest near a pretty creepy looking cave. I didn't even know it was forbidden until those two captured me."  
  
"Well, you still broke a rule by being there," Eramor said, "However since you didn't know the area was forbidden until after the fact, So, until we can figure out your intentions, you will have to stay in the temple for a couple of days at best."  
  
"Wh-What!?" Ryuji said in surprise, before looking at Akira, "Hey, Akira, Futaba, and Boss can all vouch for me, there's no way I'd be causing trouble on my own in a place like that!"  
  
"I see," Eramor said, before looking to the other humans in the room while also taking notice of the black cat as well, "Is this true?"  
  
"Yeah, he's pretty harmless," Futaba said, while her father looked at Ryuji and sighed.  
  
"He's a pretty good kid, I mean, he certainly helped out Akira," Sojiro said, while Eramor looked to Akira and nodded.  
  
"Well then, what about you?" he said, letting Akira's gray eyes lock with the elderly elf's green ones before he spoke.  
  
"Ryuji's my best friend, next to my cat, Morgana," he said, causing the cat in question to get a smug look on his face.  
  
"Oh, so Mona's here too..." Ryuji said, causing Eramor to raise an eyebrow but say nothing more.  
  
"I see," The elderly elf then said as he crossed his arms and nodded, "With that, I sentence Ryuji to at least two days community service, "  
  
"Wh-what?" Ryuji and Zanfalcon said in surprise, while the younger elf continued, "Sir Eramor, you can't be serious!"  
  
"I'm completely serious, Zanfalcon," Eramor said with a slightly annoyed tone, "This boy is still young and he is under unusual circumstances. Do you not see how strangely he and the other humans in the temple dress? It is clearly different from other humans that have passed through the wood on their way to New De'Var."  
  
"M-Maybe they are just foreigners from some far off country we don't know about yet!" Zanfalcon argued, "Not to mention, young or not, he was still found in the forbidden area! I may not know yet how he got past any guards to wind up at the cavern itself, but I swear, I'll find out, sir!"  
  
"No, you will not Zanfalcon," Eramor said with a glare, causing the younger elf to flinch, "I feel magic is involved here, and you know full well whose territory that is."  
  
"You're seriously asking for the help of that mad drow?" Zanfalcon said, causing Eramor to nod and turn his attention towards Sojiro next.  
  
"So then," he said calmly while Zanfalcon tightened his grip on the rope binding Ryuji, "What were you and your two children doing before you arrived here?"  
  
Sojiro looked surprised at this but calmed down as he decided to do his best to explain.  
  
"Well, to be honest, we're from a far more advanced world than this one," he said causing Eramor to look surprised now, "I was spending time with my daughter, Futaba when Akira decided to drop in for a surprise visit and ask me for a job at the cafe I own, Le Blanc."  
  
"So, Akira isn't your son?" Eramor said, "My apologies, you two seemed similar so I assumed you were related."  
  
"It's fine," Sojiro said, continuing his tale, "Well, he went up to the cafe's attic to take a nap after a long journey, and next thing any of us knew, we woke up in a dungeon cell inside some ruins. There, we met Killik, and after he released us, he brought us to the village."  
  
"I see," Eramor said as he relaxed a bit, "My Great-grandson is certainly doing his best to help others,"  
  
If there was any confusion about this revelation, it didn't show on anyone's face in Akira's group, though Ryuji did decide to ask a question.  
  
"Uh... so, what's going to happen to my friends?" he said, causing Eramor to smile gently at the boy before answering.  
  
"That is a good question," Eramor said, before looking to Legode, "Legode, can you take Boss and his companions to the Laughing Dragon for now? Chances are they'll need a place to stay, and I'm not sure if anyone in the village is willing to give them board other than Smiles."  
  
"Understood," Legode said with a nod before turning to the group and was about to speak again when Ryuji interrupted her.  
  
"Wh-what!?" he said, "Oh man, you guys get to stay in a tavern? That'---"  
  
"SHUT UP, HUMAN!" Zanfalcon then said, punching Ryuji in the head, knocking the blond to the ground. Akira saw this and felt his anger rise, and as Zanfalcon moved in to try and punch Ryuji again, the glasses-wearing young man stepped in and grabbed the elf's wrist.  
  
"Stop hurting my friend," Akira said coldly, catching Eramor's attention as the older elf glared at them both. For a moment, Akira was worried he'd be in for a repeat of what had led him to meet his friends again, only for Eramor to turn to Zanfalcon and speak.  
  
"Zanfalcon, that was highly uncalled for," he said, causing the younger elf to look down at the ground.  
  
"Sir Eramor, I-" Zanfalcon said, only for Eramor to hold up a hand and speak.  
  
"Listen, I know you're under a lot of stress lately, however, you shouldn't take it out on another," Eramor said, causing Zanfalcon to get a look of guilt on his face, "Take a few days on suspension and calm down, stay home and try not to cause any trouble, alright?"  
  
"Yes, sir," Zanfalcon said through gritted teeth as he nodded and left the temple in a huff, leaving his partner Ianxalim alone with the rest of the group. Akira actually felt sorry for the silent elf as well as Zanfalcon but was also relieved to find a reasonable adult in this world instead of a corrupt politician. However, as Eramor turned his attention to Ryuji, the blond cringing in pain as the elf laid his hands on the young man's face. Then, to Akira's surprise, the elf's hands began to glow with white light as Ryuji's bruises were healed right before their eyes.  
  
"Wow! Was that Lay On Hands?" Futaba then asked, causing Eramor to nod in surprise.  
  
"Yes, it was," he then said, "I assume you're knowledgable about paladins?"  
  
"Only that they can heal and fight monsters with Holy Power," Futaba said before glancing at Akira while she pushed her glasses up her nose, "I'm more interested in Rogues though."  
  
"Right..." Eramor said while catching a grin on Bethany's face as he turned to Ryuji again, "Are you alright?"  
  
"Yeah, thanks for the help, man," Ryuji then said with a small smile on his face, "Uh... do you think I can get untied now?"  
  
"Ianxalim, can you untie him, please?" Eramor said, while the silent elf nodded and drew his sword.  
  
"Wh-What the eff!?" Ryuji said, only for the silent elf to swing his sword and sliced the ropes binding the young man. With his arms now free, Ryuji relaxed as the black'haired elf smiled apologetically towards him, before looking to Eramor again in silence.  
  
"You're dismissed," Eramor said, causing the silent elf to take his leave, though as the older elf looked to Akira while Ryuji scratched his nose, he did have something to say to the young man with glasses.  
  
"I'd like to talk to you in private later, if that is alright with you," Eramor then said, causing Akira to raise an eyebrow.  
  
"Why not now?" he said, only for the old elf to smile and shake his head.  
  
"I'm an old man, and right now, I need to rest," he said and was about to leave when Akira asked another question.  
  
"Can I at least stay and talk to Ryuji?" Akira said, causing Eramor to nod.  
  
"I'll allow it," he then said before turning away, "Bethany, can you lead Ryuji and Akira to a side room so they can speak in peace?"  
  
"Of course, Father," Bethany then said before she went to the boys and smiled, "Well you two, follow me, won't you?"  
  
"Uh... s-sure," Ryuji said while Akira remained silent, though the black-haired young man did give a look to Futaba and Sojiro to let them know that he'd be back later and to head off without him and the cat resting on his shoulders. Akira then watched the Sakura family leave with Legode, the blue elf having an awkward look on her face as she led them out of the temple and back into the village itself, leaving him, Morgana and Ryuji alone with Bethany.  
  
The side room they went to was rather nice in all honesty, with a wooden table and intricately carved wooden chairs, as well as a small fountain in the center of the room which, when combined with the sunlight created a rather nice atmosphere to relax in. As the two young men sat across from each other, Morgana sat on the table while Bethany remained in the room with them, leaning against a wall with her arms crossed.  
  
"Uh..." Ryuji said, staring at the elf in the room, "Can we have some privacy please?"  
  
"Sorry, but since you're due to perform Community Service, I have to keep an eye on you until your probation officer is selected," Bethany said, causing Ryuji to sigh.  
  
"Aw man," Ryuji said with a sigh, before muttering under his breath, "Well, I guess it could be worse."  
  
"It's good to see you again, Ryuji," Akira then said with a smile, causing Ryuji to smile back and nod.  
  
"Same to you, man," Ryuji then said, "So, how did you get here?"  
  
"I don't know how it happened," Akira said, "However, remember the Velvet Room?"  
  
"Yeah, you mean that place you went to when getting new stuff, right?" Ryuji said, watching what he said around Bethany as Akira nodded, "Something happen to it?"  
  
"I saw the place redecorate itself before I woke up in a dungeon," Akira then said, causing Ryuji's eyes to widen.  
  
"Really? Dude, that's so weird! So, it doesn't look like a prison any more?"  
  
"No, last I saw, it turned into a tavern," Akira said, while Morgana listened intently.  
  
"That's kinda weird," the cat said, before turning to Ryuji, "So, how did you get here, anyway?"  
  
"Well, I was playing some games in my room when suddenly, the power went out," Ryuji said, "Next thing I know after opening the door was that I was in that dead forest... it was really creepy with how quiet it was."  
  
"Yes, that's what happens when a Devil or Demon walk upon the realms, their evil permeates the area and kills it," Bethany said causing the two guys to look at the elven woman with wide eyes.  
  
"Uh... aren't devils and demons the same thing?" Ryuji then said, the teen looking more confused than usual as the woman sighed and ran her fingers through her short brown hair.  
  
"No, and don't go saying that to them if you value your life," Bethany said, "Devils are lawful, meaning that they twist the law to suit their needs while Demons are chaotic, meaning that they don't give a damn what they do as long as it suits their needs."  
  
"Damn, we'll keep that in mind," Ryuji said, while Akira filed this information away for later, just in case it was useful for the future while they were in this world. However, Ryuji then turned his attention back to his friend, before he asked a question.  
  
"So, you woke up in a dungeon again?" he then said, "Kind of like when we first discovered Kamoshida's little secret, huh?"  
  
"Yeah," Morgana then said, "And while we were trying to get out of there, I saw this big blue bird show up before that Killik guy appeared and picked the lock."  
  
"Uh... who's Killik?" Ryuji then said in confusion.  
  
"Oh, Killik's my grandson," Bethany said, causing Ryuji's eyes to widen in surprise, while Akira's expression showed less surprise than the blond's.  
  
"Daaaaamn," Ryuji then said, "You're hot for a grandma."  
  
"Why thank you," Bethany said with a laugh, "my husband thinks so too."  
  
"Bethany," Akira then said, deciding to test something, "Aren't you weirded out by us talking with my cat, Morgana?"  
  
"Well, my daughter Legode and her younger son Kalandyn can understand animals as well," Bethany said, "Not to mention my brother in law, Kinder, has done a lot weirder than talk to a cat."  
  
"So, what about the bird Morgana told us about? Do you know anything about it?" Akira then asked, while Ryuji merely remained silent for the moment.  
  
"I do, but I won't spill what I know that easily," Bethany said a bit coldly, "If you want to know about what your kitty cat saw, then ask my grandson, he knows more about the bird than anything, in my opinion."  
  
"Don't worry, I will once I get the chance," Akira said as he picked up Morgana to prepare to leave, only for Ryuji to ask his friend another question.  
  
"Hey, do you think to others are here too?" Ryuji then asked, "I mean, it can't just be you, me, Morgana, Futaba, and Boss, right?"  
  
"I don't know," Akira said with a sigh, before looking at Bethany again, "Can you escort me to the Laughing Dragon? I really don't know my way around the village yet, and I'm not sure how long we'll be staying here, either."  
  
"Of course I will!" Bethany said with a smile, "It wouldn't do if you had just a cat to protect yourself in case something nasty comes into the village,"  
  
"Thank you," Akira said, and so followed Bethany out of the room, and leaving Ryuji alone with his thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much to say for this chapter, other than Eramor is meant to be a reasonable authority figure- which would be refreshing after what Akira, Ryuji and the other Phantom Thieves had dealt with on their first adventure.
> 
> But don't worry, according to my story notes, an asshole in need of a change of heart will be showing up in a few chapters.
> 
> Next time, let's take a look and see how Ann is doing, ok?


	6. Ann and Pugdishnak

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ann finds herself in a whole world of trouble... but she at least seems to have found an unexpected Ally...

Ann had no idea how long she was out, the last thing she remembered was being chained in a cart and hearing a battle take place outside of it while she and three other girls stayed together for safety in case of trouble. She remembered the victor of the battle, some sort of monstrous beast in hide armor and wielding a bloody axe in his hands. She had hoped it was a dream, and that she'd wake up back in her room with the TV on, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case.  
  
She found herself in a sparse, grassy field, and herself sleeping on what looked like a bearskin, though what sort of bear she didn't really know. As she looked around the area, she saw that she was in a camp of some sort, with Trisha staying close to the muscular Monica, who was busy putting up a tent while the beautiful Mary sat on a tree stump and examined her nails.  
  
Something about Mary really rubbed Ann the wrong way, especially when it came to the way that woman glared at something.  
  
Following her gaze, she then saw the monster from before, this time sitting by a fire and cooking something, though whatever it was did smell kinda good to her. So, out of curiosity, she decided to get up and walk over to the beastly man and try and see what he was cooking, and maybe get a clue as to what was happening as Mary moved over to the tent to talk with Monica and little Trisha, hopefully about helping them out.  
  
"Uh... hey," she said, getting the monstrous man's attention, and also getting a better look at him. He was taller than her, she knew that much, but he also had greenish skin and small tusks growing from his bottom lip. His brown eyes looked at Ann, and she could see a look of humanity in them, while his short black hair seemed a bit shiny in the sunlight, He wore tanned hides as armor from what she could tell, and still had that axe- now clean, strapped to his back.  
  
"So you're awake," the man then said, his voice gruff as he went back to stirring the pot of stew, "That's a relief, I... was worried that I scared you into having a heart attack."  
  
"Oh, um... i-it's fine," Ann said nervously, "I was just surprised, I guess. I... haven't really seen anything like you before mister...?"  
  
"I am Pugdishnak, a half-orc," the beastly man said plainly, "The warrior woman, Monica told me your name already when I helped her and the others, and you out of your bonds in the cart, Miss Ann."  
  
"I see," Ann said, thankful she didn't have to introduce herself for the moment, "So, like, what do you mean by rescuing us?"  
  
"You didn't know?" Pugdishnak said in surprise, "You were on a slaver wagon to Veldorn, my partner and I were sent out to stop it and rescue as many slaves as we could, however... we only found one wagon and four slaves, so either they had a poor sale, or they're only doing small numbers to avoid suspicion."  
  
"That's horrible!" Ann said, mainly because she was almost made a slave herself, "I'm glad you were able to save us though."  
  
"Don't be," a snide voice then said, causing Ann to see the beautiful black-haired Mary, the woman glaring at Pugdishnak with pure hatred.  
  
"Be careful, Ann," Mary then said, earning her a confused look from the blonde as the other woman continued, "He's a half-orc, his kind don't normally do good without a price attached."  
  
"Hey, you don't know that for sure!" Ann said, while Pugdishnak, "He saved us and you're treating him like some sort of monster? What is wrong with you!?"  
  
"Don't you get it?" Mary said, "Orcs are evil, while half-orcs are unwanted savages that very rarely want to do good, if at all!"  
  
"Really? Because Pug here seems pretty good to me so far," Ann said, while Mary glared once again and turned to walk off in a huff towards the tents, causing Ann to catch a glimpse of small, pointed ears. Of course, she thought that was probably just a trick of the light, and didn't say a thing about it, so instead she turned to Pugdishnak and sighed out, "Just what is her problem?"  
  
"She's of elven descent," Pugdishnak then said as he stirred the pot of stew once again, "Elves hate orcs, it's just a fact of life."  
  
"But why?" Ann asked, genuinely confused, while Pugdishnak turned to face her, his brown eyes looking into her pale blue ones as he answered.  
  
"Because the gods of Elves and Orcs, Corellon and Gruumsh respectively, despise each other after Gruumsh tried to ambush Corellon at the behest of a Goddess named Araushnee, who later became the Spider Queen Lolth. Gruumsh lost his eye in the encounter and it is said that the blood that was shed by Corellon became the first elves. " Pugdishnak said, "I do not follow Gruumsh, but from what I recall from my theology lessons in New De'Var, Gruumsh's life was spared by Corellon as the elf did not wish to fight an unarmed opponent, and so left for Arvandor- Corellon's domain in the Upper Planes."  
  
"So, basically because two gods fought because of some other party's planning, two races hate each other?" Ann said, earning a nod from the half-orc, "That's kind of messed up, isn't there a way for the two races to get along?"  
  
"No, I'm afraid not," Pugdishnak said with a sigh, "But, despite the hatred between the two races, I'll admit that my life in New De'Var has been an improvement over how it was back with my father, before I was kicked out of our tribe by him."  
  
"New De'Var?" Ann then asked, "Is that some sort of city?"  
  
"Correct," Pugdishnak said with a nod, "A city of outcasts and monsters, all just wanting a peaceful life without having to fight for our lives, or deal with being discriminated against because of our pasts- it's really a way for some people to start a new life, if they don't mind being around monsters that is."  
  
"I'm guessing you managed to get a new life there too?" Ann asked, earning another nod from the warrior as he once more stirred the stew to keep it from burning over the campfire.  
  
"That's right," he then said with a small smile on his broad lips, "I managed to get an education there, which is rare for a barbarian like me."  
  
"Oh..." Ann said, realizing that Barbarians were probably not that bright sometimes. She also remained silent for a moment, letting things sink in that she definitely wasn't dreaming after all, that she somehow wound up in another world. She had also seen another man die- an evil man, maybe, but still a man that could have been redeemed for all she knew. As the reality of the situation struck her, she then broke down as she wondered if she'd ever see her friends or her parents again, if she'd ever see Akira again despite the leader of the Phantom Thieves breaking her heart when she confessed her feelings to him, if she'd ever see home again so she could continue her career as a model and actress.  
  
As she cried, she felt a soft cloth rub against her cheeks, causing her to look up to see Pugdishnak holding a red handkerchief in his hand and showing a concerned look on his face.  
  
"Are you alright, Miss Ann?" he then asked, only for the young woman to shake her head, causing her curly long pigtails to bounce as they swung around slightly.  
  
"No... I... I don't know where I am, I was captured as a slave and rescued, thankfully, and... I guess the reality of my situation just hit me," she then confessed, causing Pugdishnak to frown slightly as he placed the handkerchief in her hands.  
  
"You're in the wildlands near the Eastern Shaar's Great Rift, about five days east from New De'Var," Pugdishnak then said as Ann wiped away the tears and blew her nose.  
  
"Five days?" Ann said with a sniff, "Isn't there a faster way to get there?"  
  
Pugdishnak shook his head and sighed, "In my rage, I killed the slavers and one of the horses, so we have only three horses to split between the five of us. My partner, a wizard was going to teleport us back to New De'Var, but she was killed during the battle against Kamo's minions."  
  
"I'm sorry about your loss," Ann then said, "Were you two close?"  
  
"We were," Pugdishnak then said, "But Freya died a warrior's death as she kept fighting despite her wounds, and also took two slavers down with her using her magic. Besides, sometimes death is part of the job when it comes to protecting those who can't protect themselves."  
  
"O-Oh," Ann said as she wondered what Freya might have been like, before shaking her head as she realized she wasn't sure how to feel about the half-orc's views on things. Of course, it was then that Mary returned from the tent she had gone to, causing Ann to catch a glimpse of an angry Monica as she went back to work setting up a third tent for the group.  
  
"Perhaps Pug made his story up," Mary then said coldly, "How do we know that he didn't kill his partner? He's a barbarian, right? Their rage is known to sometimes make it hard to tell the difference between friend and foe."  
  
"That can't be true!" Ann said, before turning to Pugdishnak with a little doubt on her face, "Right, Pug?"  
  
"I did not kill my partner," Pugdishnak said, "One of the slavers tried to kill her, but he and another were taken out by my partner's final fireball spell. Her body was sadly caught in the flames, and I stripped her body of whatever I could salvage and bury her- just as she asked me to a long time ago."  
  
"I must have been out a long time then... if you were able to bury someone," Ann said, causing Pug to nod while Mary scoffed.  
  
"You were out most of the day," Mary said, before pointing up at the sky overhead. Ann looked up and saw that the sun was setting while unfamiliar stars started to dot the sky. As for the rising moon, it seemed full, but strangely enough, there also seemed to be a cluster of stars right next to it.  
  
"This... definitely isn't Japan, is it?" Ann then said, earning her confused looks from Mary and Pugdishnak.  
  
"Japan, is that where you're from?" Pug then asked.  
  
"Yeah," Ann said, starting to get a sense of hope, "You've heard of it, right?"  
  
"No, we haven't," Pug then said, causing Ann to sigh again.  
  
"Figured as much," she said, just as Pugdishnak was about to ask a question when a scream rang out.  
  
 _"Trisha!"_ The trio heard Monica yell out, "Trisha get back here!"  
  
Ann looked around and soon saw the little girl from before start to run away from the camp, stumbling for a moment as Monica called out her name, only to keep on running. Without thinking, Ann started looking for a weapon, something to defend herself with in case of trouble, before spotting a whip by Pug's side.  
  
"Hey, mind if I borrow this?" she said causing the half-orc to raise an eyebrow while Mary looked on pathetically.  
  
"Go ahead," Pugdishnak said, realizing what Ann was up to, "But it isn't worth going after someone who'd run away again later."  
  
"Then I'll go after Trisha on my own, she could get hurt out there!" Ann then said, and after picking up the whip, she started running after the little girl. Ann didn't even think about why Trisha ran, or if there could be danger away from the camp. All she wanted was to catch Trisha and figure out why she ran away.  
  
It wasn't long before she heard a scream, and Ann ran faster, pushing herself to her limits to get to Trisha in time as she saw her being cornered by some sort of monster. The beast looked like it had a humanoid upper body with a face that was reminiscent of a lioness, while her lower body was that of a lion. The white beast seemed to be female as well and carried a shield and a spear in her hands while she looked down curiously at the little girl cowering before her.  
  
"Trisha!" Ann cried out, running fast as she perceived the girl the be in danger, and after getting between the little girl and the beast, glared at the monster before readying her whip in a chance to strike if she had to, "I won't let you hurt her!"  
  
The beast backed off, whether intimidated by Ann or some other reason, she didn't know, but the beast did silently watch the pair from afar as Ann picked Trisha up in her arms and began consoling the crying child.  
  
"Trisha, what were you thinking, running away like that?" Ann then asked the sniffling girl.  
  
"I-I d-didn't want to be eaten by the Half-orc!" Trisha sobbed, causing Ann to rock the girl gently to try and calm the poor child down.  
  
"Eat you, what do you mean by that?" Ann said, looking at the girl in the plain brown dress.  
  
"M-Mary said that the half-orc w-was going to eat us!" Trisha then said, the girl with choppy looking brown hair soon sobbing again.  
  
"Mary lied!" Ann then said, picking the crying girl up and started walking back to camp with the girl, "Pug is a nice half-orc, he rescued us, didn't he?"  
  
"Y-Yeah..." Trisha said, before going pale, "M-Mary said she was going to try and kill Pug while I ran away, sh-she said it was to protect me!"  
  
"I think Mary lied to you," Ann said, picking up speed once the camp was in sight, "C'mon, we've got to stop her!"  
  
Trisha just held on to Ann, running with all her strength and then some when she heard the scream coming from the camp, as well as two figures struggling against each other before one fell to the ground, clutching their side.  
  
"No!" Ann cried out as she picked up speed, adrenaline causing her to move even faster than before as she reached the camp, only to find Pugdishnak on the ground, clutching his side while Mary stood over him, a wicked smile on her face as Monica laid on the ground. Putting Trisha on the ground, Ann acted as she saw Mary prepare to go in for the kill on the half-orc, only for Ann to use her whip to grab the other woman's wrists, holding the whip taut to try and keep her from moving.  
  
"What the hell are you doing!?" Ann snapped at the raven-haired beauty, who looked genuinely confused towards the blonde.  
  
"What did I do wrong?" Mary then asked in a confused tone, "This half-orc was going to kill us anyway, so why not kill him first?"  
  
"Because he saved us?" Ann said, "Seriously if he was going to kill us, he had his chance back when we were in chains, why the hell would Pug spare us then!?"  
  
"Oh right, you were unconscious when I heard what he said," Mary said, looking to the unmoving Monica on the ground, "She heard it too while Trisha was taking a nap, we heard that the half-orc was going to kill us in our sleep after we eat tonight, so I just had to stop him."  
  
"I doubt that!" Ann said, "Pug told me he was going to take us to a city in five days!"  
  
"So you're going to put your trust in some monster?" Mary then asked calmly, tilting her head to the side as her green eyes locked with Ann's icy blue ones, the blonde getting a bad feeling as she stood her ground while Mary continued, "That half-orc lied to you, Annie, there's no such place as New De'Var, if there was, wouldn't it be on a map somewhere? But then again, I've never heard of your supposed country of Japan either, so for all I know... you could be lying, or a monster yourself in disguise."  
  
"I'm more human than you are!" Ann then said, glaring at Mary as she was reminded of Kamoshida, and his twisted views of the world while Mary looked to Trisha and spoke.  
  
"Little Trisha, come over here, I'll protect you from all the monsters that come after us," she said, smiling at the child, though Ann couldn't help but feel unnerved by how serene this woman was after stabbing someone with a knife.  
  
"The only monster I see is you!" Trisha said, pointing at Mary while she hid behind Ann, surprising the unhinged beauty who currently had her hands tied by Ann's leather whip, though she still had the knife in her bound hands. Mary merely sighed and looked at Trisha with a disappointed look on her face.  
  
"Oh poor little one," Mary said, still as calm as ever as she tried to lower her arms, "I just want to protect a sweet child like you, that's all. You don't need to see the dangers of the world after all..."  
  
"That didn't stop you from trying to kill an innocent man!" Ann called out to Mary, tugging on her whip and forcing Mary to her feet, only for Mary to laugh instead and start pulling Ann towards her through the whip connecting them both.  
  
"Oh, poor, poor, naive Annie," Mary then said, causing chills to go down Ann's spine, "He's a half-orc, not a man, he might as well be a thing rather than a person. Things like him need to be destroyed after all, so who am I to deny that destruction?"  
  
"Y-You're insane!" Ann said, pulling her whip free of Mary's hands, breaking their connection as the other woman merely stared at Ann with a blank look on her face, "Pug has as much a right to life as we do! I don't care that he's a half-orc, he's still half-human, isn't he? That's got to count for something, right?"  
  
Mary seemed hurt by Ann's word, before she looked down at the ground, seemingly reflecting on what the blonde had said. Ann hoped that her words got through to Mary as she mumbled to herself.  
  
Then, Mary began to laugh, chilling Ann to the bone as the other woman's green eyes showed the madness in her soul.  
  
 _"Human?_ A half-orc is never going to be _accepted_ by humans, that's just how it is!" Mary said with a twirl of her knife, "It's a shame, really Annie, I was honestly hoping you'd see things my way... but I guess a sympathizer to monsters should be destroyed too."  
  
With that said, Mary then charged at Ann, still laughing as Trisha ran around the perimeter of the camp to get to Monica, the redhead moving slightly as the battle began. Ann dodged the knife aimed at her chest and jumped back while she swung her whip, striking Mary in the face and cutting her cheek. Mary froze then and checked her cheek with her fingers, only to pull back and see that she was bleeding. Now angry, Mary charged again in a blind rage, murderous intent plain as day as she focused on Ann. Ann continued to do her best to dodge, intending to try and survive long enough for Monica to get up and do something while Pug remained prone on the ground. She knew this wasn't a battle in the Metaverse, but very real. She was in danger and if she wasn't careful, she could very much lose her life. Another crack of the whip and Mary was struck across the stomach, a wicked red mark soon starting to form as the psychotic woman still stood, screaming in rage as Ann prepared another swing.  
  
This time, Mary managed to get Ann in the side, causing the blonde to cry out in pain, forcing her to use her free hand to cover her injury as she wished she could use her persona.  
  
Then, she heard nothing but her heartbeat as she felt a very familiar warmth go through her body and into her right arm. She felt the familiar power surge through her as she raised her whip and saw the leather become surrounded by familiar blue flames that soon covered her body as Mary stepped back in shock.  
  
"Wh-What are you!?" Mary said while Ann said nothing as her clothes turned into a red leather bodysuit and her face became covered by a red, cat-like mask.  
  
"I'm a phantom thief!" Ann said, pointing her whip towards Mary and cracking it again, now filled with confidence while Mary was filled with rage. Ann sidestepped another attack, and struck the crazy woman with the handle of her whip, knocking her to the ground as Ann looked down at Mary. Before she could say something witty, Mary, however, shot up, ready to strike her in her exposed chest, only for a familiar greenish hand to grab Mary by the wrist.  
  
"Pug!" Ann cried out, relieved to see that he was alive, but still bleeding, and she felt power surge through her as she summoned the power of her persona, _"Diarama!"_  
  
Next thing that Pug knew, the injury to his side was healed, while Ann suddenly felt a wave of fatigue hit her. Still, she did her best to remain standing as Mary struggled against the half-orc's strength, while Pug was momentarily surprised by the strange magic, he said nothing, choosing instead to hold Mary still as she struggled against his strength.  
  
"Let go of me, monster!" she cried out, struggling to get her hand free, and once she did she had the blade pointed at a new target, herself. "I'd rather die than go to a den of orcs, half-breed!"  
  
Ann was stunned silent, and could only watch as Mary was about to stab herself in the chest, only to instead be restrained by Monica, the buff redhead putting the smaller woman into a chokehold. Ann watched as Mary started to kick in the air, trying to attack Monica, only to soon pass out after a few moments. Monica waited a moment more before setting the beautiful woman on the ground, a smile on the redhead's face as she spoke.  
  
"That's for hitting me with a stick, bitch," Monica said as she dusted off her hands and looked to Ann, "Though, I didn't expect us to have a magic user on our side! Good job, Ann, though... what's with the get-up?"  
  
"Huh?" Ann said, before looking down to see she was still in her Phantom Thief gear, "Uh... it's a long story, but I'm not from here and I... can only use these powers under specific circumstances."  
  
Ann fell to her knees then, feeling tired as her clothes returned to the black graphic tank top and daisy dukes she had on before, and as she looked down also noticed that she was still bleeding from Mary's attack from before. She would have hit the ground had Pugdishnak not steadied her and offered her a bottle of something.  
  
"What's this?" Ann said tiredly, while Pugdishnak said nothing as he opened the bottle and tilted Ann's head back so she could drink it. In moments, Ann's pain stopped and she watched as the blood stopped flowing out of her injury and the skin healed itself like it was nothing. Realizing that she was given a healing potion, she rubbed her side and saw that she was completely healed, though her shirt was still damaged from the cut.  
  
"Um... thanks," Ann said, blushing a bit as Pugdishnak merely looked away from her.  
  
"We need to get you some better armor... and some boots," he said, before looking to Mary, "As for her..."  
  
"What's going to happen to her?" Ann asked while she watched Monica tie the unconscious woman up tightly.  
  
"She will be judged in the Temple of Tyr in New De'Var," Pugdishnak said, causing Ann to gain a look of confusion.  
  
"Huh? Who's Tyr?" Ann asked in confusion, earning her surprised looks from the half-orc, Monica, and even little Trisha.  
  
"Tyr's the god of justice. That's what mama told me before she died," Trisha then said to Ann, "He's supposed to be blind and have one hand, and the clerics at the temple are kinda strict though."  
  
"I see," Ann said, "We... kind of don't have a god of justice back home in Japan, so I'll probably be pretty lost if we talk about religion here."  
  
"Wow, your homeland must be pretty strange to not have a God of Justice," Monica then said, dragging Mary to her feet after making sure she didn't have a knife on hand, "Still... wish I knew where she found the knife..."  
  
Ann said nothing as she still felt tired despite being healed to full health by that potion, most likely due to the loss of blood she suffered, so making her way back to the bearskin, she collapsed and looked up at the moonlit and starry sky. She had to admit, it was certainly a beautiful sight to see, without any light pollution like there was in Tokyo, but sadly she couldn't recognize any of the stars overhead.  
  
Not that it mattered, since her mind was swimming with thoughts. Just where was she? Was it the Metaverse? If so, why didn't she see her Persona when she used her magic? Was it because she managed to use her powers in the real world... or whatever this place was? And if it was the Metaverse, why were some people helpful to her and why were others trying to kill her? Not to mention all the people she met so far had normal eyes instead of the golden eyes normally found on Shadows. Not to mention that she had seen monsters in this world, making it pretty dangerous in her book.  
  
Still, as she laid down on the bearskin she had woken up on earlier in the evening, she couldn't help but wonder about her friends, the other Phantom Thieves. Were they in this world too? Was she all alone?  
  
In all honesty, she really didn't know.  
  
 _Guys, wherever you are, I hope you're safe..._ she thought, before closing her eyes to fall back asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here we see how Ann's been doing, and it also seems she was able to sort of activate her persona as well. Though, at least she's surrounded by friends... oh, and Mary too I guess.
> 
> I'll be honest, this chapter took four days to write out due to stuff going on IRL, but I got it done and I'm taking a some time off to recharge my brain before writing the next chapter.
> 
> Next time: Akira meets the owner of the Laughing Dragon...


	7. The Laughing Dragon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira meets the owner of the Laughing Dragon... and also learns something about Eramor from Sojiro.

Akira woke up the next morning with a groan. His mind was still hazy from sleep as he looked around the sunlit room, for a moment thinking he was back in Le Blanc's attic and that the events of yesterday were only a dream.  
  
Unfortunately, when he looked out the window and saw a forest village instead of Yongen-Jaya, he sighed and looked to see Morgana was on his chest still snoozing.  
  
"Hey, get up," Akira said, rousing the sleeping feline from his dreams.  
  
"Hm?" Morgana said sleepily as he blinked and looked around the mostly empty room- save for the table and chairs in the middle as well as the bed they were currently laying on. Of course, as the memories from the day before came back to him, he couldn't help but sigh, "And here I thought we would wake up back home..."  
  
"Yeah," Akira said with a sigh, before remembering how he came to the Laughing Dragon Tavern.

  
~0~

  
It had been in the middle of the night when he, Morgana and the cleric Bethany arrived at the tavern, the interior lit by a few lanterns on the walls to give it a homey look as various tables littered the main room and shadowy corners were empty of any edgy wannabe badass for the night. As for the bar itself, the mirror behind it showed the entire tavern, while various bottles and kegs of alcohol lined the shelves below it. The place had seemed empty the night before, with the beautiful brunette elf next to Akira looking mildly annoyed as she scanned the dimly lit room.  
  
"Where is that Tavernmaster?" she said as she crossed her arms and frowned, before seeing something on the bar and picked it up to read it aloud, "Had a job come up for the Matron, will be back in the morning, signed, Smiles."  
  
"Smiles?" Akira then asked while Morgana looked up from his perch of being around Akira's shoulders.  
  
"The owner, he's.... well, you'll find out when you meet him," Bethany said with a sigh, "There's... really no real way to best describe Smiles."  
  
"Sounds like a real weirdo..." Morgana said, only to be hopped on the nose by Akira, causing the cat to let out a sneeze. Though, the two then watched Bethany take what looked like an ink pen and start writing a message on the back of the sheet of paper, most likely to let Smiles know the situation when he got back.  
  
"Anyway, you should head up to bed," Bethany said as she jumped over the bar and started searching around before finding a key. She then jumped back to Akira's side of the bar and handed the key to the young man with his cat and smiled.  
  
"Here, this should get you into an empty room," she said with a smile, "I need to get back home, it is starting to get late after all."  
  
"Have a safe trip," Akira said, not really aware of how it could be dangerous at night, but he trusted that the woman could handle it- something told him that she was tougher than she looked.  
  
As he went upstairs, Akira soon saw Sojiro in the hallway, the older man looking relieved to see the leader of the Phantom Thieves had made it safely to the tavern.  
  
"So, how was your chat with Ryuji?" he then asked, causing Akira to let out a small sigh.  
  
"He's as clueless as to what's going on as we are," the glasses-wearing young man then said, before yawning a little, "I'm heading to bed, you should too, Boss."  
  
"Don't worry, I will," Sojiro said as he leaned against the wall, "I'll talk to you some more in the morning."  
  
"Thanks," Akira said, before heading into his room for the night.  
  


~0~  


There was a sudden knock at the door, drawing Akira out of his thoughts. Getting up, he walked over to the door and opened it to find Sojiro there, but no sign of Futaba.  
  
"Futaba still asleep?" Akira then asked, causing Sojiro to nod.  
  
"Yeah," he then said, "She was pretty excited last night, she didn't get to sleep until around dawn."  
  
"Considering our situation," Morgana then said with a yawn, "I don't blame her for getting excited, we seem to be in another world, after all."  
  
"I don't think I'll ever get used to Morgana speaking..." Sojiro said with a sigh as he ran his hand through his thinning hair, "Anyway, I need to talk to you about Eramor, mind closing the door so we get some privacy?"  
  
Akira nodded as he let Sojiro into the room, and once the door was closed, the older man sat by the table and let out a sigh as he tried to find the words.  
  
"Do you not trust Eramor?" Akira then asked after a few minutes, causing Sojiro to shake his head.  
  
"No, it's not that," he said, "It's just that I never thought I'd meet Eramor in person, is all."  
  
"In person?" Akira then asked, only for Sojiro to sigh and do his best to explain.  
  
"Eramor was a character in a campaign Wakaba dragged me into playing," Sojiro said, "I forget the other two players, but I remember the characters played- Wakaba played Jacob Silverleaf, an elven wizard, I played a human rogue named Maaku Marshflare, while the other two characters were Eramor Glyder, a paladin of Corellon and a gnome cleric named Oruzu Glincle."  
  
"Do you think we might meet your character?" Akira then asked, only for Sojiro to shake his head again.  
  
"Listen, elves live for a long time, I remember that much from the game," he said, "If Eramor's an old man, then there's a chance that Maaku is dead as a doornail."  
  
"That's... a good point," Akira then said with a sigh, feeling a bit like an idiot for not considering that idea. Still, as he looked around the room, he noticed that it was just as homey as the attic of Le Blanc was, probably even more so since it had a bathroom attached- even if that bathroom contained a bathtub and a pretty old-fashioned toilet.  
  
As his thoughts then went to Ryuji- mainly to get them off the idea of who might be unlucky enough to be cleaning the bathrooms in this place, Akira honestly became worried for his friend and started heading towards the door as Morgana hopped onto his shoulders.  
  
"Where are you two going?" Sojiro then asked as he got up as well.  
  
"We're going to the temple to visit Ryuji," Akira said calmly as he stroked Morgana's head, and silently wished he had a bag on him to carry the cat in, especially since he knew that if he moved too much, Morgana might get hurt by falling off, or worse, he'd get hurt whenever the cat decided to hang on with his claws.  
  
"Alright, just be careful out there, no telling what could be hiding in this town," Sojiro said as he exited the room with Akira, this time heading back to a different room to check on his daughter Futaba.  
  
Downstairs, the Tavern seemed just about the sea as it did last night- tables scattered about the room while the bar seemed immaculately clean in the morning light coming through the windows. However, today there was a new addition to the room- a man with pointed ears and skin as black as coal. He had very short, cropped white hair- save for a lock bundled together with a purple ribbon on the left side of his face and as Akira moved closer, the young man also took note of a pair of cat-clawed metal gauntlets that the man was taking off while adjusting the pale green robe he wore on his body as well.  
  
However, the strangest thing about this man was the uneasy feeling Akira got from him, especially when his most neutral expression seemed to be a slight smile just playing on his lips. It was then that red eyes turned to look into Akira's gray ones, causing a chill to go down his spine as the dark elf spoke.  
  
"Wonderful morning, isn't it?" he said, putting the gauntlets underneath the bar before holding up the piece of paper that was on the bar the night before.  
  
"Uh... yeah," Akira said, while he could feel Morgana's claws dig into his shirt as he sensed the cat's uneasiness, "You must be Smiles, right? Bethany mentioned you to me last night."  
  
"Ah yes, the lovely Lady Bethany Glyder," Smiles then said folding the note left for him and flipping it through his fingers like a playing card, "But allow me to introduce myself properly- Smiles Ar'Lekin, owner of the Laughing Dragon and also you're benevolent host while you and your family are here in Riftwood... according to what I've been told anyway."  
  
"Akira Kurusu, I hope we get along," Akira said, holding out his hand and was surprised by the fact that he felt a pulse and warmth when Smiles grabbed his hand and shook it vigorously, "Though, where were you last night?"  
  
"Oh, just working another job," Smiles said, his expression not changing a bit as Akira couldn't help but feel a more sinister vibe from the elf, "I might tell you about it someday if you're lucky... or unlucky, depends on what fate has in store for us, I'm afraid."  
  
"I try not to leave things to the whims of fate," Akira said, "I prefer to make my own."  
  
"Oho! So you're that kind of person are you?" Smiles said with a laugh, his slight smile becoming more noticeable, "I think we might get along quite well, Mister Kurusu, though, you and the man that's here with you, Sojiro, aren't going to be staying here for free, I'm afraid."  
  
"What do you mean?" Akira said as he picked Morgana off his shoulders and held the cat in his arms, while also getting a cold look in his eyes, "And what about Futaba?"  
  
"Little Futaba's stay will be paid for by the work done around here by you and Sojiro, she's much too young to do any work as a Tavern Wench, and it wouldn't be right to put her in a position where she's hit on by some... undesirable people if you catch my drift."  
  
"How kind of you," Akira said dryly, while Smiles merely nodded before he spoke again.  
  
"Oh, just following my Matron's example, that's all."  
  
"Matron?" Akira then asked, thoroughly confused now while Morgana merely glared at Smiles.  
  
"Oh, Matron Kendalia is the leader of the Drow living here in Riftwood," Siles then said, before he started to gush a little, "and the Illustrious Matron Kendalia was kind enough to let me pursue my dream of running a tavern when we arrived here, not to mention she's saved my life multiple times so I owe her for so much! My precious Matron is a wonderful woman, not like the other Matrons out there who follow the vile Spider Queen... those are the ones you really need to watch out for, but thankfully, no drow in Riftwood is willing to risk war with the Wood Elves, and so serve Eilistraee or another diety that isn't part of the Dark Seldarine."  
  
"What are-" Akira was about to ask, only for the door to open and a bell to ring as a familiar voice rang out through the tavern.  
  
"Delivery!" said the voice of Killik, causing Akira to turn around to see the Fey'ri holding a large box in his arms while his tail carried a bag as he set the box on a nearby table.  
  
"Oh! Master Killik!" Smiles then said, causing Akira to raise an eyebrow, "What a pleasure to see you this morning!"  
  
"Hey Smiles," Killik then said calmly, as if he was used to the Tavernmaster's eccentricities, before the demonic elf spotted Akira, "Oh, you're Akira, right... and you have the cat with you. Great."  
  
"My name is Morgana!" the cat in question then said, while Akira let out a sigh.  
  
"Please don't hiss at me," Killik then said, causing Akira to raise an eyebrow, could he not hear Morgana's voice after all? If so, why could his mother hear Morgana's voice while he couldn't?  
  
"His name is Morgana," Akira then repeated to Killik, just to see if the fey'ri really didn't hear Morgana speak, the only response he got was Killik merely shrugging as Akira added, "So, what's in the box?"  
  
"New silverware and plates for the tavern," Killik said as he opened the box and started pulling out metal plates and cutlery from it, "Smiles commissioned my boss to make some after a pretty bad brawl last week broke his dishes... and some asshole made off with some of his cutlery."  
  
"What about cups?" Akira then asked, while Killik sighed and looked at Smiles before answering.  
  
"The extra cups aren't done yet," he then said, "Miss Ironforge got an order in from New De'Var to refurbish some armor, so we haven't had time to finish the cups, but she insisted on delivering what we did finish, just so you wouldn't worry."  
  
"Thank you, Master Killik," Smiles said, causing Killik the sigh in response.  
  
"Can you not call me that? It's still too weird..." the fey'ri said with a sigh, before turning to Akira, "Anyway, you sleep ok?"  
  
"Yeah," Akira said with a nod, "So, you're an errand boy?"  
  
"Yeah, I-" Killik said with a nod, though he was interrupted by Smiles soon after.  
  
"Speaking of Errand boys, I figured you could help me by running errands in exchange for room and board, Mister Kurusu," Smiles then said plainly as he leaned on the bar of his tavern. Akira couldn't help but wonder just how long the dark elf was planning this, but thanks to the strange vibe he got from the Tavernmaster, Akira decided not to argue at the moment.  
  
"And what about Sojiro?" Akira then asked along with Morgana, while Smiles hummed in thought for a moment- tapping his smiling lips with his finger as the elf's red eyes twinkled with delight.  
  
"Well, Mister Sakura can help me around the Tavern- helping me serve drinks, maybe clean up a bit around here, and in case I have to do another job, Sojiro can run things for me while I'm away."  
  
"Right..." Akira said with a sigh before Killik tapped the young man's shoulder.  
  
"Anyway, I need to get back to work," Killik said, "Want to hang out later? You can meet me at the Blacksmith's shop in town."  
  
"Sounds good," Akira said with a nod, before Smiles cleared his throat, causing Akira to feel a sinister vibe behind that smiling face.  
  
"Well, since you can talk with customers, perhaps you can start your own work by helping me set the tables?" Smiles then said, "It is almost time for breakfast and I'm sure you and the other guests will be wanting to eat as soon as possible."  
  
Akira didn't say a thing and quickly got to work watching as Killik left the tavern from the corner of his eye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here we meet one of my favorite characters in the story so far- Smiles Ar'Lekin, a drow Tavernmaster who has a secret. Though I will not spill what that secret is, I will give a hint- it has to do with his "Other Job" and his zealous fanboyishness towards his Matron.
> 
> Oh, and we also learn a bit more about that game of D&D that Wakaba ran, though not her reasons for running it and who else was playing, only the player characters. Any theories as to Wakaba's reasonings for playing D&D and when, I'll leave to you, the readers to give.
> 
> Next time: We will see how the Niijima sisters are handling things.


	8. Makoto and Sae in New De'Var

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While in the castle, Makoto and Sae learn more about the ruler of their location.. among other things.

Makoto Niijima and her older sister, Sae were in an interesting situation.  
  
For starters, they had woken up the day before in a castle instead of their dorm and apartment respectively. Then, they had met a prince who was apparently heir to the city they were in. At first, they thought they were in the Metaverse, but with the guard outside of their room preventing them to sneak out and investigate, the sisters were forced to stay in their room, hoping that they'd be back in the real world when they next woke up.  
  
Unfortunately, this was not the case as the following morning, sunlight flooded the room as Sae sat up and groaned, the woman's grayish hair a mess as she tried to hide from the sun for a little longer.  
  
"Day off, need sleep..." Sae mumbled as she snuggled herself in the sheets of the bed, before remembering what happened as she shot upward in her bed. Once again, she was in the same room as before- the same lavender walls and ornately carved door, as well as the same beds a before. As Sae saw Makoto starting to wake up as well, she felt relieved that her sister was ok, but that relief soon faded as she remembered their current situation- currently in a lavish prison in another world.  
  
"Makoto?" Sae then said, getting her little sister's attention. As the brunette looked around the room however, she sighed and looked again towards her older sister.  
  
"I was hoping that we were having some sort of shared dream," Makoto said sadly, "But it seems we really are in some sort of other world."  
  
"How did we even get here?" Sae then asked, only for Makoto to shake her head and sigh.  
  
"I really don't know," the brunette then said, "The last thing I remember, I was in the library at my university, when I had a dizzy spell and passed out."  
  
"That's about what happened to me, though I was in my office instead," Sae said, the elder Niijima running her fingers through her long hair, "I just wish I knew what was going on here."  
  
There was a sudden knock at their door, followed by a voice coming from the other side.  
  
"Um... Br-Breakfast and a change of clothes for our guests" said a woman, only for her voice to be followed by the gruff growls of the guard.  
  
"Go on in, they're awake right now."  
  
"Th-Thank you," the servant then said before the door opened up to reveal a human woman wearing a dark blue gown with a white apron wrapped around her body. Apparently, this blonde woman with hazel eyes was a maid, as she wheeled in a cart carrying two plates of eggs and sausage, as well as two gowns for the sisters to wear.  
  
"Um... who are you?" Makoto then asked, blindsided by seeing another human at last.  
  
"Oh, I'm Alicia, the maid assigned to you two for the duration of your stay," the woman said with an awkward smile, "King Turil himself assigned me to your chambers, and told me to do my best to take care of you both. So I hope my Ladies will be pleased with me, especially since I've brought a change of clothes for you both."  
  
"Thank you," Makoto said as she walked over to the cart and pulled one of the dresses- a blue and white gown made of silk that seemed a little bit big for Makoto. "I think this one is for you, Sis."  
  
Sae said nothing as she carefully took the offered gown into her hands, taking a moment to examine it and notice that the cool white silk was embroidered with strange symbols she'd never seen before.  
  
"What do the symbols on here mean?" Sae then asked Alicia, causing the blonde to flinch and sigh.  
  
"I think they're runes for cold resistance, but I'm not entirely sure," she said, causing Sae to raise an eyebrow, "Magic is prevalent in Faerun, so I wouldn't be surprised if some nobles had their clothes decorated with protective runes to try and stay safe, from what I gather, the life of a noble is rather cutthroat at times."  
  
"I see," Sae said as she laid the dress on the bed and took a tray of food from the cart, her stomach growling as she yearned for breakfast. "You may leave us, Alicia."  
  
"Oh, I can't leave yet!" the maid then said, "As your personal maid, it's my job to watch over you both, help you dress, and overall make sure you two are safe from anyone who might try taking advantage of you both!"  
  
"We don't need any help getting dressed," Sae said, while Alicia merely frowned.  
  
"Can you even properly lace up a bodice?" Alicia said, causing Sae to flinch while Makoto silently ate her breakfast.  
  
"W-Well, no..." Sae said, causing Alicia to smirk in victory.  
  
"Then I'll stay to make sure your gowns are properly laced up," Alicia then said, "There's no need to look sloppily dressed for when you meet King Turil."  
  
That, caused Sae and Makoto to nearly choke on their meals.  
  
"The king wants to meet us?" Sae then said in surprise, "Did he give a reason why?"  
  
"No, he simply told me to let you know that once you two were awake, to come to see him in the throne room as soon as possible," Alicia said with a sigh, "My guess is that it has to do with how you got into New De'Var, it's rare for anyone to simply teleport into the city, especially since it's not on any map yet."  
  
"I see..." Sae said while Makoto looked at her in worry, "We'll meet him after breakfast and once we're dressed in these gowns you brought us."  
  
"I'll inform the guard when you're ready," Alicia said, heading to a corner to sit down and wait for when she was needed by the sisters.  
  


~0~

Later, once the Niijima sisters were dressed, Makoto followed her older sister and their tiger-headed guard Aska to the throne room. The castle halls were made of gray stone, and the blue carpet they walked on seemed rather nice and soft under their slippered feet. As for clothing, Makoto wore a black gown with a red bodice, while her older sister wore a white gown with a blue bodice. While Makoto admitted to herself that they seemed comfortable, she also noted that they probably wouldn't be all that useful in a fight if one broke out in the future. Sure Makoto could use her Persona's powers to try and escape with her older sister, but she wasn't sure if she could even access her powers in this world.  
  
Not to mention that so far, she hadn't even felt any sign of a Shadow or the Metaverse since she woke up the first time in this world. From the maid Alicia, she and Sae learned that they were in a place called the Eastern Shaar of a place called Faerun, specifically in a city called New De'Var, which according to the human maid, was settled by humanoid monsters such as Orcs, and Lizard Folk and even creatures she'd never seen before in her life back in a place called Waterdeep, all the way to the west on a place called the Sword Coast.  
  
All of those places were ones that neither Makoto nor her sister had ever heard of, and what was more, it seemed that the more they learned, the more the evidence pointed to them being in another world.  
  
 _I wish that the others were here,_ she then thought to herself, following after Aska as they neared the throne room, only for Sae to draw her out of her thoughts before she could continue.  
  
"Makoto," she whispered, "Let me do the talking, ok? If we're in trouble, I want to try and negotiate a way out of this."  
  
"Okay," Makoto said and before they knew it, the doors were opened, revealing a beautiful throne room decorated with tapestries depicting moments in history- from one moment depicting what looked like four shadows escaping from a dark place to another depicting a battle, Makoto couldn't help but feel awed by this as they were led closer to the throne itself- a beautiful white stone one where the King sat with Aurin sitting next to him on a less ornate throne. It turned out, the King resembled an older Aurin- with the same silver eyes, snow-white hair, and coal-black skin. However, instead of the regal robes of a king that Makoto expected, the man was dressed simply in a white shirt and leather pants, as well as a simple gold pendant with a lavender stone, all while an iron crown rested on his head. Both he seemed to have an eerily calm expression on his face as he locked eyes with Makoto, before looking to Sae and slightly raising an eyebrow.  
  
"My King," Aska then said as he gave a salute, "I present to you the Niijima sisters Sae and Makoto."  
  
"Thank you, Aska," King Turil said, his deep voice hiding something that Makoto couldn't yet identify, "According to Aurin's report to me, I assume there is a reason the two of you came to my city?"  
  
"Actually, your Majesty," Sae then said, not even flinching that the King was getting straight to business instead of making small talk, "We don't have a known reason for being here, all my sister and I know is that one moment, we are in our world living our daily lives, and the next, we're waking up in the room you placed us in."  
  
"I see," Turil then said before Sae decided to ask a question of her own.  
  
"Your Majesty," she then said, "Your son mentioned not finding signs of Undeath of vampirism on my sister and I, may I ask what that is about?"  
  
"A long time ago, vampires attacked this city and the neighboring village of Riftwood," Turil said darkly, "Though we defeated them, it was not without a price to pay. Because of this, we've set up border patrols to check anyone coming to the city for signs of undeath or vampirism, just so we don't have a repeat of that incident... and so no one else can lose a loved one again."  
  
Makoto, hearing a pang of guilt in the king's words, she also remembered that the prince had mentioned a memorial park the day before. She had indeed wondered what the park was a memorial for, but with the lack of a queen in the room, she soon realized what had happened.  
  
"Something on your mind?" Turil then said to Makoto, causing her to flinch as she locked eyes with the King again.  
  
"Um... i-it's nothing, Your Majesty," she said quietly, not wanting to open up any old wounds for the moment. Still, Turil stared at her for a moment longer, before turning his attention to a nearby guard and snapping his fingers. The guard then brought forward a pair of bags that both Niijima sisters recognized as their own.  
  
"We searched your bags and your persons for weapons, but as we found none on your persons, nor anything dangerous in your bags, I can assume that neither of you are a threat to my city or the neighboring village of Riftwood," Turil then said, before he stuck a hand into Sae's bag and pulled out a familiar device to both the sisters, "However, we also found both of these strange tablets in your bags, could you explain what they are exactly?"  
  
"They're simply communication devices," Sae said, "However, they only work when they have a signal, so I don't think we can demonstrate how they work to you."  
  
"I see," Turil said, replacing the device into Sae's bag, "So your world has ways of long-distance communication as well, I take it?"  
  
"As well?" Sae said in surprise, "So, you're saying you have similar technology?"  
  
"More like a magic item my older brother created," Turil said, gesturing to his pendant, "Myself, my family and all my guards each carry what he calls a Kinderstone, It's rather useful in emergencies, one could report a crime quickly, or call for more guards when a criminal is trying to escape. Not to mention the more practical uses this device is capable of, but I'll let my brother talk more about his creation when you get a chance to meet him."  
  
"I see," Sae said, while Makoto was surprised as well, "That is rather impressive of your brother to be able to figure out how to handle long-distance communication like that."  
  
"I'll be sure to let him know the next time he visits the castle," Turil said with a slight smile, "Then again, magic usually is impressive when in use."  
  
Makoto found herself intrigued- magic was a common occurrence in this world? That was interesting to know. If so, perhaps there was a way back home through magic. Unfortunately, before she could ask about it, she saw the king's pendant start to flash, followed by the king clutching it in his hand and staring at it with a bored expression on his face.  
  
"This is King Turil, what is the matter?" he said, only for the voice on the other end to speak up.  
  
 _"This is Alimorn Calthak and I'm sorry to interrupt your audience, your majesty,"_ said a rough voice coming from the stone, _"But there's been a murder- one of the guards on the Day Watch."_  
  
"Which one?" Turil then asked, now a little more interested in the situation.  
  
 _"Zudzon Bittersabre, an orc. His wife Tanya called in using his Kinderstone when she discovered the murder this morning, most likely happening during the night."_  
  
"Zudzon? Strange... he had a promotion coming up, didn't he?" Turil then asked, "Lieutenant Calthak, have the body examined by the clerics as soon as possible, and have Tanya Bittersabre brought in for questioning. We need more information about what happened and to get together a list of suspects."  
  
 _"Understood, your majesty,"_ Alimorn said, _"I'll begin the investigation right away."_  
  
"Thank you, you're dismissed," Turil then said, ending the call before looking back at his guests, "My apologies, but I'm afraid something has come up."  
  
"I'm surprised you have an idea on what to do for a murder investigation," Sae then said, while Turil merely let go of his pendant for the moment.  
  
"My late wife, Adeyne, was the one to implement these procedures," he said, "I've come to appreciate them over time since it helps to keep my city safe."  
  
"I see," Sae said, "I have experience in building cases for my world's Justice System, and also experience in interrogation if there's anything I can do to help, I'll be happy to do something while my sister and I are here in your city."  
  
"Thank you," Turil said, "While I don't trust you enough to help me solve this murder, there is another crime we're having trouble solving- an attack on a local librarian, If you would come with me to the dungeon, I'd be happy to explain more about it."  
  
"Thank you, I'd like that," Sae said with a smile and watched as the King stood up and walked towards her, his full height being the same as Sae's own once he came closer to the two sisters. Before the pair left, he then turned to his son and spoke.  
  
"Aurin, stay here with Miss Niijima's sister, we shall be back as soon as possible," Turil said, causing Aurin to stand up and nod.  
  
"Of course, Father," Aurin said quietly, and with that the two adults were off, leaving their relatives behind in the throne room. Once they were alone, Makoto decided to walk around the throne room and examine the tapestries hanging about closer, all while under the watchful eyes of Aska and two other tiger-headed guards. Of course, she had a lot on her mind as she stared at the tapestries, trying to figure out what they depicted as she had no knowledge of the local history of the city, or of this world in general. So, she was at a loss, unsure what to even do about her situation. Part of her wanted to fight back, but so far King Turil and his son Aurin had been nothing but hospitable towards her and her sister, and since they haven't really tried taking advantage of them, she wasn't sure if fighting back would be the best option at the moment.  
  
As her thoughts moved to Aurin, she also realized that the quiet prince seemed to be a little on edge around her, though why that was, she wasn't really sure. Was it because she was human and he wasn't? Was it because of the circumstances that led to them being in the same room? Just what was going on with the prince of New De'Var?  
  
"Um... nice day, isn't it?" Makoto said, doing her best to start up a conversation with the prince.  
  
"Yes, it is, I might go swimming later," Aurin said quietly as he looked out the window of the throne room and out to the city proper, which Makoto noted still looked like something out of medieval European fantasy, rather than any city she was familiar with. Stone buildings lining the streets as a wall surrounded the city for protection against enemies.  
  
"So, you like to swim?" Makoto said, doing her best to keep the conversation going for now.  
  
"Yes... I'm part Aquariel, being able to swim is a natural skill of mine," Aurin said, slightly annoyed.  
  
"Well, what other hobbies do you have?" Makoto then asked, while Aurin merely gave her a cold look before answering.  
  
"Swordfighting," he said bluntly, "Do you use the blade any?"  
  
"I prefer fighting with my fists," Makoto said, recalling her pasts battles in the Metaverse.  
  
"What are you, some sort of monk?" Aurin then asked flatly, causing Makoto to actually giggle.  
  
"No, I'm not a monk, but I'm studying to be a Police Commissioner back home," Makoto said, while Aurin looked at her and raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Police Commissioner? Is that like a Captain of the Guard?" he asked, causing Makoto to smile and nod.  
  
"Yes, I guess it is," Makoto said, before looking at a tapestry showing a woman with green hair and fins on her arms holding a spear as she fought monsters. "What's this tapestry depicting?"  
  
"That... is my mother," Aurin said sadly causing Makoto to flinch as she realized she may have messed up, "She died fighting vampires according to Father... I don't remember much of her since I was only three years old at the time of her death."  
  
"I'm sorry for your loss," Makoto said, and quietly wondered what her sister was up to.  
  


~0~

Elsewhere in the castle, Sae and Turil were heading towards the dungeon of the castle, however as the defense lawyer looked around and noticed that the pair were unguarded, she honestly felt a little nervous. Not to mention that so far, the King of New De'Var hadn't even attempted to strike up a conversation with her, which meant he either didn't have questions about her world, or just didn't seem to care about the fact she was from another world at all.  
  
All in all, the man was very hard to read.  
  
"Aren't you worried you might be attacked here in the castle?" she then asked her host, the coal-black man's pointed ears twitching in response.  
  
"Lady Niijima, if you are worried about an assassination, please don't," he said, "I'm well versed in how to defend myself, and while guards are nice to have, I prefer to stay in top form whenever I can."  
  
"So, you know how to fight then?" Sae said in surprise, while the King nodded.  
  
"I wouldn't be over three hundred and fifty years old if I didn't know how to protect myself with a weapon," Turil said, surprising Sae even further.  
  
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were that experienced," she said as politely as possible.  
  
"I'm only middle-aged for my race," Turil said, "If anything, I still have much more to learn yet."  
  
"How wise," Sae said a bit dryly as they went down a set of stairs into a torch-lit area of the castle. Realizing that they were nearing their destination, she decided to ask about just what crime she'd be building a case for, "Can you tell me more about who or what I'll be interrogating, and what their crime was?"  
  
"According to the report, a human named Elliott Riversteel was captured after going berserk in the city library. The librarian, a Tabaxi named Ruby Lace, was helping a student find a book when Mister Riversteel attacked them, killing the student and injuring Mister Lace in the process while the guards were being called in."  
  
"So, we're dealing with murder here," Sae said as she crossed her arms, "Can you tell me what a Tabaxi is?"  
  
"A Tabaxi is a feline humanoid originating in the continent of Maztica," Turil said, "However, some were brought to FAerun as slaves, my forces managed to free some that were passing by the city and gave them a place to call home until we found a way to transport them back to Maztica if they are willing to leave that is."  
  
"And the victim?" Sae then asked, finding cat people to be rather strange on its own, but then again, she had seen stranger back in her own world after all. "Was the victim human or something else?"  
  
"The victim was a Lizardfolk by the name of Belu, he was training to join the City Guard, from what I've been told about him," Turil said, a hint of anger in his voice as he stopped before a dungeon cell- the door being made of wood with a little barred window to allow people to look in. Yet another Tiger-headed guard was standing outside of the cell, this one a woman from the looks of it as Sae turned to look at her watch to check the time before going in.  
  
"How long do I have to get a confession?" Sae then asked Turil, the king taking a moment to think as he looked to Sae's watch.  
  
"Well, since I want to test your abilities, I'd like to know how easily you can get information on your own. So, I'll allow a lack of time limit this time, if that is alright with you."  
  
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Sae then said before Turil moved to speak to the guard.  
  
"Opta," he then said to the tiger-woman, "This woman is Sae Niijima, she is to interrogate the prisoner Elliot Riversteel under your supervision."  
  
"As you wish, my King," Opta then said, the tiger-woman soon moving to open the door for Sae to allow her into the cell.  
  
Once inside, Sae saw that the prisoner was indeed human- a tall man with black hair and deep brown eyes. As he looked at Sae in surprise, she also noticed that he was heavily restrained, most likely to keep him from hurting anyone else and escaping. As Sae sat down on a stool offered to her by Opta, she then crossed her arms and began her interrogation.  
  
"Your name is Elliott Riversteel, correct?" she asked, causing the man to nod, "Do you know why you were arrested?"  
  
"Because I killed a damn Lizard, right?" Elliott then said with a smirk, "Then again, I guess a couple of humans like us is rare in this hellhole."  
  
"And why is that?" Sae asked, raising an eyebrow, only for Elliott to laugh.  
  
"Because don't you know? This is a city of monsters, and its ruler is a godsdamned Drow! Even if you were to defend me in court, our odds of winning are pretty low."  
  
"You still committed Murder, didn't you?" Sae then asked, doing her best to keep her cool, "Not to mention you injured a civilian in the process of your crime, so tell me, why did you do it?"  
  
"Because that damn Lizard was one of the bastards that raided my village!" Elliott shouted, "I wanted revenge for what those scaly freaks did to my family!"  
  
"So your motive was revenge?" Sae asked calmly, causing Elliott to nod again, "And how could you be sure that Belu really was one of the raiders of your village?"  
  
"Lizardfolk are all the same- cold, unfeeling monsters," Elliott then said, "Even if that Lizard wasn't one of the ones who killed my family and destroyed my village, I'm still planning to murder them all if I have to, just to avenge them."  
  
"So, you would perform Genocide on innocents as well?" Sae asked in disgust before she stood up, only for Elliott to scoff.  
  
"Oh please! There's no such thing as an innocent as long as monsters are concerned," he said, angrily, "This whole city is just asking for a bunch of real heroes to come along and slaughter them all!"  
  
"Actions speak louder than mere words," Sae said in response, "As for monsters, the only one I see is you."  
  
"So you're defending those things!?" Elliott screamed, pulling at his restraints, "How could you betray your humanity like that!?"  
  
"I'm not betraying anything," Sae said, while Opta readied to draw her scimitar in case there was trouble.  
  
"LIAR!" Elliott roared, before ripping his chains out of the wall and striking Sae into the side of the room with them. He would have then attacked her with his fists had Opta not gotten between him and Sae, taking the blows with her body. It was strange to see the tiger woman seem unphased by the blows to her stomach, but as Opta's eyes glowed with an almost infernal light, Sae knew that there may have been something more about the tiger woman than met the eye. As Sae moved to get up though, she heard the door open and felt herself be pulled out of there while Opta restrained Elliott, allowing Sae a chance to escape. She heard Elliott rant and rave about monsters and traitors as the door was closed behind her, soon realizing that Turil had not just pulled her out of there, but was still holding her wrist.  
  
"Are you alright?" Turil then asked, snapping Sae out fo her stupor.  
  
"I... I'll be fine," she said, pulling away from the King and looking at her watch... only to see that it had been broken at some point.  
  
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize he'd turn out to be this dangerous," Turil said, glancing at the broken watch and sighing, "I'll... have someone look at your timepiece, see if it can be repaired."  
  
"To be honest, I never expected to be struck by a restrained prisoner either," Sae then said, before cringing and rubbing her side.  
  
"I'll take you to the infirmary," Turil then said with another sigh, before running the bridge of his nose, "It's the least I can do to make sure you're fully healed.... it wouldn't be good for a King to allow a guest to be injured under his watch."  
  
"Thank you," Sae said, "What will happen to Elliott from here on out?"  
  
"He will be moved to a new cell and thanks to the confession you gained from him, he will be going to trial for murder," Turil said, restoring his calm demeanor, his long, snow-white hair fluttering a bit behind him as he started walking away.  
  
"I'm glad to hear he won't be going straight to execution," Sae then said as she moved to follow after the King of New De'Var, "Though.. I'd rather not defend him in court."  
  
"Actually, you'll most likely act as a witness to his character in the trial," Turil then said, "Though, if you want to defend people in court, I will not mind it."  
  
"Are you sure?" Sae said, "Though before I can defend or prosecute anyone, I'll need a proper license to act as a lawyer if that's possible."  
  
"As King, I'll see what I can do," Turil said with a small smirk, "After all if you need to do something to keep yourself from growing bored while you're here, I'll be happy to oblige my guests... within reason of course."  
  
"Well, it's good to know that you won't consider my sister and me as prisoners," Sae said as she moved beside the King, "Perhaps you could show us around the city as well?"  
  
"Maybe after you've recovered," Turil said, and silently walked along the halls of the castle, the older Niijima sister in tow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter is one I looked forward to writing since I started with this idea, as it was one of the earliest ideas to hit me in the first place- Makoto and Sae in a city of monsters.
> 
> While the idea was probably silly, I still liked it and things eventually evolved into the fic itself from this one idea.
> 
> Also, I may have used name generators for the minor characters like Opta, Elliott, Belu, Aska, and Ruby Lace. I did not use a generator for Alicia, Turil, and Aurin.
> 
> Finally, sorry there's no Persona action this chapter, but then again... it's going to be a while before we see some of that again, Chapter 16 at the earliest in fact... which is when the first Palace of the story will come into play.
> 
> Anyway, next time in Aria of the Soul- let's check in on Akechi and Haru, shall we?


	9. The Foundling and Kalypso

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akechi awakens but with something missing, meanwhile, Haru gets to know Kent a little better....

He didn't know where he was as he started to awaken, feeling something soft under him as he slowly roused from his slumber.  
  
A bed, that had to be it, and a soft one too now that he thought about it.  
  
As he opened his reddish-brown eyes, he soon saw that he was in some sort of island hut, with bamboo walls and natural sunlight coming through the windows. As he looked around though, he saw a nice rug on the wooden floor that was decorated in patterns he couldn't recognize, as well as what looked like a working kitchen where he saw someone working on a meal.  
  
That someone, he noticed was a woman with long purple hair tied back into a ponytail, while her skin was a dark tan as she chopped away at some fish. Of course, as he tried to think, he realized that his head still pounded from before, causing him to groan as he sat up and held his head, getting the woman's attention. As she turned to face him, he saw that she had eyes as blue as the ocean and a beauty mark below her left eye as well as a pair of pointed ears.  
  
Pointed ears? That was strange... maybe she was just pretending to be an elf?  
  
"Oh, you're awake!" she said with a smile as she walked over to him and sat down in a nearby chair, "That's a relief, I was worried you wouldn't awaken, little Watheh."  
  
"Little... Watheh?" he said, trying to think, "Is... that my name?"  
  
"No, no it's not," the woman said, "It's an elven word that means "To Find," and I was hoping you'd be able to tell me your name when you woke up."  
  
"I'm sorry to say, but... I can't seem to remember much," he said with a sigh, holding his head and feeling a lump.  
  
"I see..." the apparent elf then said with a sad sigh, "I guess whatever happened to you was pretty traumatic, that you would forget some things, but I never thought you would forget your name..."  
  
"My apologies," he said with a sigh before looking around the island hut and back at the elf, "But... just who are you? And what happened to me?"  
  
"Oh! I'm Kalypso Glyder, it's nice to meet you," the elf then said before getting a grim expression on her face, "As for what happened to you, my best theory was that you were caught in a shipwreck during the storm a couple of nights ago, you've been asleep for the whole day after I stabilized you. And it's a good thing I did, it seemed someone wanted you dead with the stab to the side you'd gotten, and also the concussion you received..."  
  
He was surprised to hear this, before lifting the covers to see that he was indeed bandaged up, but he didn't feel that much pain, "I'm confused... how did you stabilize me?"  
  
"I used magic, silly Watheh!" Kalypso said with a chuckle, "It's a miracle that I found a survivor among the crew as well... perhaps it's a sign from Corellon that I shouldn't be alone anymore."  
  
"You live on this island alone?" he said in surprise, "Also, you know magic? Are you a witch of some kind?"  
  
"A cleric, actually," Kalypso said with another laugh, "And yes, I live on this island alone for penance after my father died... he wasn't a very good man."  
  
"I see," he said, feeling a sense of familiarity when it came to evil fathers, though he honestly didn't know why he felt like that. "What were his crimes, exactly?"  
  
"Oh, don't worry about that, you need to focus on recovering," Kalypso said with a smile as she moved to ruffle his hair, causing him to flinch a bit as visions of someone fighting against him though why or who he couldn't remember. As she saw this, she looked worried as she spoke up, "Watheh, are you alright? I didn't poke your concussion, did I?"  
  
"No, I don't think you did..." he said, before cringing again as he saw another vision, this time showing him a figure all in black, save for a white mask running through a building filled with all sorts of lights and machines. Someone was saying something, though he didn't know who, nor could he make it out save for one word.  
  
"Huh? Goro?" he said more to himself, causing Kalypso to blink in surprise.  
  
"Goro? Is that your name, Little Watheh?" she then asked, causing him to blink.  
  
"I... guess so, it sounds familiar, though I don't know why," said Goro, before a more pressing question entered his mind, "What happened to the rest of the crew, or the ship?"  
  
"I'm afraid you're the only survivor," Kalypso then said sadly, "After stabilizing you, I spent the rest of the day burying the dead, as for the ship you were probably on, it went down in the storm, just like several others that came near the island."  
  
"Did you wash up on here as well?" Goro then asked, while Kalypso smiled and shook her head.  
  
"No, I... came here through a different method, a Teleportation Spell my uncle used when I asked if I could stay here in my exile." Kalypso then said, "Though sometimes he worries about me and sends me supplies once a month so I don't have to completely rely on the world around me."  
  
"Is he a cleric too?" Goro asked, only for Kalypso to shake her head again, her purple hair fluttering in the breeze coming through the open window.  
  
"No, he's a wizard and a powerful one as well... and even though my uncle and I aren't related by blood, he's still family to me," Kalypso said with a small smile before she stood up and walked back towards the kitchen, "Anyway, I need to prepare lunch before the fish rots, I hope you enjoy grilled fish, Goro!"  
  
"I don't think I've had it grilled, but I think I like fish," Goro then said with a smile, before letting out a small yawn, "I... I think I'm going to try and rest some more, wake me up when lunch is ready..."  
  
"Okay, Little Goro," Kalypso said with a chuckle before she went back to work on the fish.  
  


~0~

For Haru Okumura, things had been interesting in the past twenty-four hours- from being on her way to class at the agricultural college she had been attending before she had found herself in a field full of summer vegetables, to meeting Kent Nettle and his family looking for a place to stay until she could find a way back home to her own world. Of course, she also decided to repay the kind family by helping out on their farm by planting seeds she had on her for her own hobby of gardening, to working around the house doing chores such as the cleaning and cooking. While she wasn't doing so well with the cooking just yet, she was however having fun learning how to cook for a family so far, even if she was regulated to just cutting vegetables while Mrs. Nettle and Kent's younger sister Elaine did most of the work.  
  
At the moment though, Haru was working in the family's garden, planting the seeds she had with her for carrots and tomatoes and even some seeds for eggplants and corn as well. As she was busy planting and mixing the soil with compost, she heard footsteps come up behind her, causing her to turn to see Kent holding a pitcher of water for Haru.  
  
"Oh, hello Kent," Haru said with a smile as eyed the pitcher of water while adjusting the sunhat and clothes she was borrowing from the family, "Is that for the plants?"  
  
"Oh, uh... n-no, it's more for you," Kent said as he offered her the pitcher, "It can get pretty hot out here in the summer."  
  
"Thank you, you're very considerate," Haru said with a smile as she took the pitcher in her hands, and also an offered ladle to drink from, the water tasting rather refreshing to her as it went down her throat. She was honestly surprised by how clean it was as well but assumed that was because this world didn't seem to have a pollution problem that her own world normally struggled with.  
  
"No problem," Kent then said with a smile before kneeling down next to Haru to help her with the gardening, "To be honest, I'm honestly surprised that a noblewoman like yourself knows how to handle gardening like us common folk."  
  
"Well, gardening is a hobby of mine," Haru said with a smile as she continued her work, planting seeds and eyeballing the distance between them to make sure they wouldn't choke each other out with their roots, "Back in school, I actually had a garden of my own to take care of, it was a lot of fun in all honesty."  
  
"Sounds like you're still having fun," Kent said, smiling still as he covered up the seeds that Haru planted, "Though, do you think you'll still be able to do this hobby of yours when you're married?"  
  
"I hope so," Haru said, "If I can find a husband that will let me be, well, myself."  
  
"What about your folks?" Kent asked, only to see Haru take on a sad expression as she sprinkled some of the water onto the planted seeds.  
  
"My mother died a long time ago, while father... he died last year," she said, causing Kent to pale a bit as he realized the implications of his question.  
  
"Sorry," he said quietly, "I... I didn't mean to-"  
  
"It's alright," Haru said, "My father... turned into a cruel man who only saw me as a tool, I... honestly would prefer to be like my grandfather- a kind person doing their best to help others, and to make our company a place where employees will enjoy working."  
  
"I see, didn't realize you were a Merchant's daughter as well," Kent said, "You must be proud of your grandfather's legacy."  
  
"I honestly really am," Haru said, "Though father left a mess behind, I plan on doing my best to restore things to how they were."  
  
"That's good," Kent said, "and if it's possible, I wouldn't mind doing what I can to help out someday."  
  
"Are you wanting to be a merchant?" Haru then asked in surprise, only for Kent to shake his head.  
  
"Nah, I want to become a druid," Kent said with a weary smile and explained when he saw Haru's confused face, "Think of them as magic users who can control nature itself- the good and the bad. The story I heard that a long time ago, a druid saved the farm when Grandpa was a boy, and that druid summoned a rainstorm to help our crops grow and ending a drought that hit us hard at the time. Every time I hear that story... it makes me want to learn magic so I can help my family's farm even more someday."  
  
"I think that's a beautiful goal," Haru then said with a smile, "But, how do you plan on doing that?"  
  
"There's a powerful druid in the Riftwood to the south," Kent said, "I plan on going there in a few days to try and get him to teach me what he knows. I mean, sure, it won't be easy, but I'm planning to learn as much as I can from that druid, and since I'm good with animals, I know I'll be able to handle that part of the training."  
  
"You have to handle animals as a druid?" Haru then asked in surprise, causing Kent to nod.  
  
"Yup, mostly wild animals, but a skilled druid can talk to domesticated ones too," Kent then said, before his hand suddenly touched Haru's, causing them to both pull their hands away and blush in embarrassment. "Oh, uh... s-sorry."  
  
"I-It's fine," Haru said with a small smile, "To be honest, you kind of remind me of someone I know, Kent."  
  
"Oh... are they close to you?" Kent then asked, causing Haru to nod.  
  
"Only as a friend," she said, causing Kent to look surprised.  
  
"I-I see," Kent said, before he suddenly stood up and picked up the now empty pitcher of water, "A-Anyway, I-I'm going to get more water for the plants!"  
  
With that, Kent left Haru alone, leaving her feeling rather confused as she wondered what that might have been about. Still, she had to admit at least one thing to herself- Kent was rather cute.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter was so short! I honestly wasn't sure how to make it longer without it being too much filler. Okay, so this chapter is a bit of filler since we're checking in on Akechi and Haru. 
> 
> Now, I'll be honest, I personally hate Amnesia plots on developed characters, especially when it comes to characters you spent so much time getting to know and love. It feels cheap and painful to watch your favorite characters not know what's going on or who their friends are, and I especially hate it when it takes up a whole arc instead of lasting a short time.
> 
> So, why did I go with Akechi having amnesia if I hate it so much? Well, I'm honestly not sure myself. Maybe it seemed like a good start to a redemption arc for Akechi? Especially since Persona 5 Royal went with a different approach to said redemption. Won't spoil it for those who haven't gotten that far in the game, but I will say that this is the REAL Akechi suffering from amnesia at the moment.
> 
> Meanwhile, we got Haru having a cute moment with Kent again, and personally... I'm shipping the two.
> 
> Also, so far in the fic, we know that Akira did not date Ann or Haru in this universe. which means that he did not suffer the pain of dating multiple girls on Valentine's day. However, I will say that he hooked up with someone in this universe, though who it is y'all will have to guess.
> 
> Anyway, next time, we finally see what's going on with the Velvet Room, and meet a new face in the Velvet Room as well. Who knows? Maybe we'll finally figure out why the Phantom Thieves are in the Forgotten Realms in the first place!
> 
> And yes, since Mishima is listed in the character tags on this fic, I will say that he's going to show up. So... it may be safe to say that somehow, this could be his fault, but then again, it probably isn't. 
> 
> Time will tell though, so there's that.


	10. Clerval

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira finds a way back to the Velvet Room, and meets a new attendant.

It was early afternoon when Akira finished his work for Smiles at the Tavern, feeling a bit thankful that his time at the Crossroads Bar in Shinjuku had helped him get used to working in a similar setting. Though, while he was glad he had Sojiro to help him out after breakfast, the fact that Smiles let Akira go out on his own after his chores were done was rather kind of the eerie dark elf, so the young man didn't think the elf was all that bad.  
  
Still didn't help the fact that Akira and Morgana both got a bad feeling about the elf for some reason.  
  
In any case, Akira was now heading to the Blacksmith shop to find Killik, so he and the fey'ri could hang out before he met with Ryuji later. It was difficult to set up a meeting time without the aid of his phone to keep in contact with his friends, but Futaba said she was trying to work on that, though how she'd be able to pull it off, he honestly didn't know.  
  
As he walked through the village of Riftwood, he had to admit the place was rather nice and reminded him of his hometown. Though, he had to admit that as nice as Riftwood seemed to be, he honestly wouldn't want to live there without being able to contact his friends online or anything like that. As some of the dark elves avoided Akira and went about their daily business, he also noticed that there was some tension in the air as they skirted around the Wood Elves that lived in the village as well. He had no idea what it was about, however, and merely minded his own business.  
  
At least until he came across a ruined building with a sign on the ground reading "The Burning Tiger," that is. It was there, he saw Killik, wearing a blue vest instead of the red one he had on the day before, and he also had a concerned look on his face as he seemed to investigate the area.  
  
"What are you doing?" Akira asked, still having Morgana perched on his shoulders, causing Killik to jump a bit before rubbing the back of his neck.  
  
"Oh, uh... just investigating," he said, you see there's a mystery about the Burning Tiger I want to solve and-"  
  
"Hey!" an all too familiar voice then said, causing Killik and Akira to turn to see Zanfalcon, currently out of armor and instead was wearing a simple white shirt with pale green pants and leather boots as well as an angry expression on his face, "What are you two kids doing here!? Get lost or else I'll---"  
  
He never got to finish his threat as Killik suddenly grabbed Akira by the ar and started booking it, clearly afraid of whatever the elf had in store. Akira followed after Killik- not that he had much choice, and didn't stop running until the pair of boys and the cat clinging for dear life to Akira were safe outside of the blacksmith shop.  
  
"What...what was that about?" Akira then said as he caught his breath, cringing in pain as he felt Morgana's claws dig into his skin through the black shirt he'd been given by Smiles earlier that day.  
  
"Zanfalcon Duskwalker is... very protective of the Burning Tiger, it used to be his dad's tavern before it burned down years ago," Killik said, "Though, I don't know what's keeping him from rebuilding the place, though I assume something evil is messing with the ruins... it wouldn't be the first time an evil spirit messed with someone around here."  
  
"There is something off about that place," Morgana said, "And I don't like the name very much either."  
  
"So," Akira said, "Why do you want to hang out today?"  
  
"Hm? Oh!" Killik said, his eyes widening a bit, "I found something near the ruins when I went there this morning, and I think you might be interested in it."  
  
"What would that be?" Akira then asked, getting a sinking feeling in his stomach as he waited for Killik's answer.  
  
"A phantom blue door," Killik said, those words alone getting Akira and Morgana's attention immediately, "I found it at the ruins we met at as I said, and when I touched it... I don't know what happened exactly, but I think I had a vision of you dressed in a mask and some kinda awesome looking clothes."  
  
"How did you know it was me?" Akira then asked, getting a good idea as to what the fey'ri had seen, only for Killik's answer to surprise him.  
  
"Because you're the only guy I know with fluffy black hair, so I felt it had to be you, ya know?"  
  
"He's got you there," Morgana said dryly, earning himself a bop on the nose from Akira.  
  
"Can you show me where in the ruins you found the door?" Akira then asked, earning a nod from Killik as they got moving from the Blacksmith shop. As they walked, the young man realized quite easily just what Killk had found- the door to the Velvet Room, which meant that not only would he be able to check in on Lavenza, but also possibly figure out what was going on as well. Why was he in this world instead of his own? Was another Conspiracy happening like in Japan, and if so, who exactly was behind it? Not to mention that he didn't even know if Lavenza would be herself in the Velvet Room when he arrived there as well. He really cared for the attendant after all, even though he didn't know her as Lavenza, but as the twin girls that he knew as Caroline and Justine.  
  
Though, as he thought about the idea that the twins would return without any memory of Lavenza again, he was honestly afraid for his friend, and actually started running with Killik towards the forest where the ruins were located.  
  
"Hey slow down!" Killik said, catching Akira's attention as he slowed down to a jog, "What's gotten into you?"  
  
"It's... I'm not sure if you'll believe me," Akira said, remembering how things were with his friends before they entered the Velvet Room in Mementos over a couple of years before.  
  
"Akira," Killik said, "I can see ghosts and stuff. Hells, I've seen weirder things than just some phantom, vision giving doors. So, if you know what's through that door, then tell me, ok?"  
  
"Alright," Akira said with a sigh, "The door leads to a special area called the Velvet Room, I've been there before because... my world was in trouble, and I could use a special power there with the help of the Room's Attendants."  
  
"So, it's a pocket plane or something that you can access alone?" Killik then asked, "If that's so, then I'll play guard while you do your business there, just in case someone comes along to the ruins."  
  
"Thanks," Akira said, "Though, I'm surprised you believe me."  
  
"As I said, I've seen weirder," Killik said as he started running ahead, "Come on, if what you said is true, then we should get to the ruins as soon as possible."  
  
"Yeah," Akira said with a nod, and followed after Killik, while Morgana once more dug his claws into Akira's skin.  
  
He really needed to get a new bag for the cat to travel in.  
  
About twenty minutes later, the trio reached a tall stone tower topped by a crystal dome that reflected the sunlight. Akira recalled seeing the tower before on his way to Riftwood, but he didn't recall who owned it if anyone at all. So, he decided to stop and look up at the tower, pausing when he saw something speed by the third-floor window. When Killik saw the young man had stopped, however, he blinked and looked up at the window as well.  
  
"What are you looking at?" the fey'ri then said, pulling Akira back to reality.  
  
"I... thought I saw something in the window," Akira said, taking his glasses off to clean them on his shirt.  
  
"It was probably Great Uncle Kinder or my cousin Barnaby," Killik said with a shrug, "Most likely Kinder, Barnaby's usually in the Tower's library at this time of day."  
  
"Is Kinder a wizard or something?" Akira then asked, casing Killik to nod.  
  
"Yeah, Kinder's a wizard alright," he said, "He's also pretty eccentric at times as well."  
  
"How so?" Akira asked, only for Killik to look a bit annoyed.  
  
"Trust me, you'll find out when you meet him," he said and started walking around the tower to continue their trek to the ruins, Akira and Morgana following after the demonic elf while also passing through an herb garden in the back. The short road leading to the ruins was also lined with some healthy-looking trees. Though, as Akira and Killik walked, Morgana seemed to feel uneasy, watching Killik intently.  
  
"Something wrong, Morgana?" Akira then asked as quietly as possible while the cat let out a growl.  
  
"That bird is back," Morgana then said, "Also... there's something weird about Killik, I'm not sure how to explain it."  
  
"Well, he is part demon," Akira said, while Killik let out a groan.  
  
"I can still hear you talking to the cat," he said, surprising Akira.  
  
"Can you hear Morgana speak like your mother can?" Akira then asked, testing something as Killik shook his head.  
  
"Nah, I don't have animal empathy like my mom and little brother do, I.... have something else," Killik said, his tail waving around for a moment before it stopped and dipped slightly, almost as if something unseen decided to use it as a perch.  
  
As Akira watched the tail for a moment, he started to wonder if the bird Morgana kept seeing was real after all, which was weird, now that he thought about it.  
  
"Hey Killik have you ever heard of a Pe-" Akira was about to say, only to be interrupted by Killik as he pointed to what looked like a deep blue wooden door with a window on it, nothing like the cell door he was familiar with, that was for sure.  
  
"So, there it is," Killik said a bit awkwardly, "As I said before, I'll stand guard while you do your business."  
  
"Thanks," Akira said to the fey'ri and prepared for his body to zone out while his mind entered the Velvet room. However, when he touched the door, he found himself being pulled into the Velvet Room much like before, though this time things felt different, though how he couldn't figure out yet. He noticed that he was alone as usual in the Velvet Room, Morgana most likely back at the ruins with Killik. He also noticed that the Velvet Room was certainly different than it was before, instead of the prison it had been, it now looked like a tavern. Remembering that he was there when it transformed into such coon caused him to look around before spotting a very familiar face with a long nose.  
  
"Igor?" Akira said, catching the man's attention as his pointed ears twitched a bit.  
  
"Ah, Akira," he said, his voice reedy and light, a welcome change from the deep and foreboding voice he had heard when the head of The Conspiracy had taken Igor's place, "It certainly has been a while since I last saw you."  
  
"I know," Akira said quietly to the master of the Velvet Room, "Can you tell me what's going on? I found myself in a different world yesterday, and I don't know if it's just me, Futaba, Morgana, and Ryuji or if the others are here too."  
  
"From what I can tell, it seems you and the other Phantom Thieves were summoned here from your world to aid in the First Wildcard of this one," Igor said as he shuffled a deck of cards on the table before him.  
  
"Do you know who this Wildcard is?" Akira then asked, only for Igor to shake his head.  
  
"I'm afraid not, the Wildcard in question hasn't even signed their contract yet, and so cannot access the Velvet Room," Igor said, "And yet, the Velvet Room has already been prepared as was the creation of the Faerunian Wildcard's Attendant, Clerval."  
  
"So, why does this Wildcard need the Phantom Thieves?" Akira asked, only for Igor to spread out his tarot cards on the table, and frown as he looked down at them.  
  
"It seems that the next Wildcard is in a precarious position," Igor then said sadly, "Having only himself and the Velvet Room to rely on."  
  
"So, someone summoned forth the Phantom Thieves to help this mystery Wildcard?" Akira asked, earning him a nod from the man with the long nose, "Do you know who it was that summoned us, or even who the contract holder might be?"  
  
"I do not," Igor said with a sigh, "I'm sorry Akira, but even I don't know everything..."  
  
"Do you know if Lavenza is alright?" Akira then asked, "Last time I saw her, was when the Velvet Room changed, and I became worried about her as well."  
  
"She's fine, do not fret," Igor said with a small chuckle as he pointed towards a corner of the room, where a small girl in a blue dress that resembled a maid from the Victorian era, complete with a blue and black lace headband with butterfly wings and yellow flowers on the sides. Lavenza's platinum blonde hair swished a bit as she looked up from her book before her golden eyes locked with Akira's gray ones, showing relief for a moment as she went back to her book. As he finished his business with Igor, he then went over to Lavenza, passing by the blindfolded pianist and the strange woman covering her ears as she sang, intending to talk with his friend in the Velvet Room.  
  
He did not, however, to be stopped in his tracks by a tall and scraggly looking man in a blue suit and black tie, with his long platinum-blonde hair slicked back and tied into a ponytail while his fierce yellow eyes looked over Akira. As the pale-skinned man crossed his arms and harrumphed, Akira realized that this was the shadow from his last visit, now given a form that was fitting of a bartender in the Velvet Room's new form.  
  
"You must be Clerval," Akira then said, earning a nod from the man.  
  
"Yeah, that's me," he said plainly, reminding Akira a bit of Caroline in the process, "I'm the bartender here in charge of fusion, while my older sister, Lavenza keep track of the Compendium you and my Contract Holder will have access to."  
  
"I see," Akira said, a bit surprised that Lavenza was considered the older sibling while in the form of a young girl, though he had to admit, for some reason there was an odd sense of familiarity about the idea of multiple attendants to the Velvet Room, though he felt he couldn't really figure out why that was. Still, he had to let that thought go, as he decided to ask Clerval a question- "So, you're the younger brother?"  
  
"Of course, stupid," Clerval said in annoyance while definitely reminding Akira of Caroline's personality, "Though, I guess I didn't get as unlucky as my brother Theodore... then again, My sisters seemed to avoid me for some reason."  
  
"Theodore?" Akira then asked, the name sounding familiar to him, but couldn't quite put his finger on why that was... or why he was suddenly craving popcorn as well.  
  
"Nevermind," Clerval said, "You're really better off not knowing about my older siblings besides Lavenza."  
  
"Right..." Akira said, deciding it was wiser not to ask, "So... who's the pianist and singer?"  
  
"That's Nameless and Belladonna," Clerval said, "Old friends of Igor from before the Attendants were a thing... something to do with reality getting messed with by the second and third guests of the Velvet Room, we don't really know all the details."  
  
"There have been other guests?" Akira said in surprise, though he felt like he should not be for some reason.  
  
Probably nothing to worry about in the end.  
  
"Yeah, but I can't really tell you about them," Clerval said, taking a moment to twirl a loose lock of hair with his white-gloved hand, "Anyway, I should get to my duties, I guess- I'm in charge of fusion, like I said, though instead of Executions, the fusions will be done through mixing drinks in the back room- dunno why, but eh, gives me something to do, ya know?"  
  
"I guess each attendant has different methods of fusion...." Akira said with a shrug, unsure of what else he could even say to that.  
  
"Pretty much, yeah," Clerval said with a smile, before looking Akira over once again, "Anyway, kid, be sure to find my Patron for me, ok? And also... could you befriend them? I don't want them to be all alone in this. It just doesn't sit right with me for some reason."  
  
"Sure thing, Clerval," Akira said with a nod, before watching as the spindly man walked away as he adjusted the thin blue ribbon in his hair. Once his path was clear, Akira then moved swiftly to Lavenza, feeling an odd sense of relief that there wasn't a set of bars between them- only a table.  
  
"Hey, Lavenza," Akira then said, getting the girl's attention.  
  
"Welcome back, Akira," she said, "Though... I'll admit, it's rather strange to have someone else in the Velvet Room after handling things on my own last summer."  
  
"Yeah," Akira said with a nod, "Though, I guess on the bright side, you won't exactly be lonely here."  
  
"I guess that's true," Lavenza said with a sigh.  
  
"Listen, I was worried about you," Akira then said, getting Lavenza's attention.  
  
"You were?" she said in surprise, "I don't see how I'm rather strong after all."  
  
"Well," Akira said, "I was... I guess I still am in a situation where I don't know what's happening. I was afraid you were split back into Caroline and Justine again."  
  
"Well, I'm clearly whole, Inmate" Lavenza said, channeling a bit of Caroline, before sighing and running a gloved hand through her hair, "Sorry, It's... it's still a bit of a mess after being brought back together a couple of years ago. Sometimes I channel them by accident..."  
  
"I'm sure you'll get through that," Akira said as he glanced down at the book she held, "How's the Compendium looking?"  
  
"It's intact, thankfully," she said with a nod, "Though a new Arcana has been unlocked, though I don't know who exactly is associated with it."  
  
"A new Arcana?" Akira asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"  
  
"It's called the Aeon Arcana, and it's usually involved with an outsider, I think," Lavenza then said, causing Akira to hum a bit in thought.  
  
"Well, I'm sure I'll know them when I see them," Akira said, "And I look forward to seeing what personas are associated with the Aeon Arcana as well."  
  
"As am I," Lavenza said with a nod, "Though, I'm a bit worried about the attempted break-in earlier..."  
  
"Attempted break-in?" Akira then asked in confusion.  
  
"Yes," Lavenza said, "We're fine, Igor sent a message to the intruder, though I don't know what was in it, and they left."  
  
"I think that might have been Killik," Akira said, before noting the confused look on Lavenza's face, "He's a local of Faerun... some sort of demonic elf called a Fey'ri. I was surprised he could even see the door as well."  
  
"A demon?" Lavenza said with a frown, "Be careful around him, Akira... I have a bad feeling about him."  
  
"He seems pretty nice so far," Akira said, "A bit weird, but nice."  
  
"I see," Lavenza said, before looking towards the door, "Someone's coming, so you should probably leave, Akira."  
  
"Yeah," Akira said with a nod as he got up and left the Velvet Room.  
  
However, when the sunlight hit his face, he had to blink a couple of times to let things like green and white not blind him after being in a blue room for what felt like a few minutes, before he noticed a very tall dark elf talking to Killik, his bright red eyes locked with Akira's own gray ones in surprise as the stranger turned from Killik to look at the human. As the newcomer tugged on the sleeve of his golden robe, he soon spoke a very simple question.  
  
"Where the hells did you come from!?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we finally get back to the plot of this story... well, Akira's side of the plot anyway, as well as find out what happened to the Velvet Room and why it changed.
> 
> As for the references to Theodore (Poor guy just can't catch a break, it seems) and Akira's strange familiarity, that's me referencing Persona Q2.
> 
> As for Clerval, I stuck to the tradition of naming Velvet Room attendants after characters from Frankenstein, and in the original story, Henry Clerval was the friend of Victor and Elizabeth who got... well, murdered by The Creature in the story. The reason I went with the name Clerval instead of Henry is mainly due to the fact Clerval sounds more like a name fitting of the Forgotten Realms.
> 
> Now, we also got a mystery on our hands- who or what is the Wildcard of the Forgotten Realms? I'll leave that for y'all to figure out as the story progresses.
> 
> Finally, who is going to be associated with the Aeon Arcana for Akira? Well, we'll find that out soon enough, dear readers, so feel free to guess that as well.
> 
> Next time, we'll find out who Killik was with at the end of this chapter, but also know that we're soon going to meet the first target of the story.


	11. Khrima

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Killik speaks with a relative of his, and also gets a call to Adventure

For Killik Alakven Rydrion, today couldn't have been any stranger. For starters, his morning visit to the ruins led to him finding a strange door that definitely wasn't there before. What's more, when he touched it, he was given a vision of one of the humans he found, Akira, dressed kind of strangely, but also kind of interesting as well. So, thanks to that vision, he figured out that Akira at least knew something about it, and to his surprise he was right, and that he knew what was on the other side of the door as well.  
  
The Velvet Room, a pocket plane that only Akira could access, as far as Killik was concerned. As the Fey'ri leaned against a nearby tree while he played guard until Akira came out of the place and Morgana returned from hiding out in the bushes, he couldn't help but wonder just what was going on. Strange doors don't just pop up without a reason after all, and what Akira had said about his world being in trouble didn't help Killik's mood about the situation either. Still, he had no idea what was going on, but then again, he liked a good mystery.  
  
"This is way better than investigating the Burning Tiger," he then said as he looked up at the branches of the tree he was leaning against, seeing a shimmer of blue, ghostly feathers overhead. "What do you think, partner?"  
  
The giant mass of feathers said nothing, merely giving Killik a look as its long neck extended to look closely at the Fey'ri, sending a silent message to him.  
  
"Yeah, I think it will be interesting to solve too," he said with a grin, just as he heard movement coming towards the ruins. It wasn't long until he saw a tall drow- taller than even any of the surface elves Killik knew, now that he thought about it, come into the clearing. This tall drow wore a golden robe that seemed to glow slightly in the sunlight, and his hair was cropped very short, though the most prominent feature was his bright red eyes that seemed to have a slight light to them. While Killik knew his Great Uncle Kinder's reason for his bright eyes, he decided not to say anything to the wizard he knew pretty well.  
  
"Hey Kinder," Killik said, noticing a faint mist entering the area before it disappeared from sight, "Plan on investigating the ruins today?"  
  
"Yep!" the drow said rather cheerfully, while the wizard's familiar, a tiny pixie crossed his arms in annoyance, "Lola and I are hoping to make some headway in figuring out why there aren't any monsters in the ruins."  
  
"Maybe it has to do with the roses?" Killik then suggested, "I mean, those flowers are pretty good at keeping away evil monsters for some reason."  
  
"Well, yeah," Kinder said as he rubbed the back of his neck, "But that doesn't explain why there isn't even a rust monster below ground..."  
  
"That's kind of a good thing, in my opinion," Killik heard Lola say rather flatly, the pixie looking quite annoyed at his master.  
  
"So anyway...." Kinder then said, deciding to change the subject, "Have you found your sister's goggles yet? It's so strange that she ended up losing them too..."  
  
"Uh.. no, not yet," Killik said as he looked up at the bluebird in the tree, while Kinder looked on in surprise at the Fey'ri.  
  
"Wait, really?" Kinder said, "I figured with your skills as a rogue, you'd be able to find them in no time," Kinder then said, while Lola looked at Killik in suspicion.  
  
"Well, that's because whoever stole them is somewhere in New De'Var right now, so I don't know where to start looking," Killik said, just as Kinder pulled a yellow apple out of his sleeve and offered it to the Fey'ri.  
  
"I see," he said as Killik silently took the fruit, "So why not get help from Turil and Aurin? I'm sure they'd be happy to help out considering the circumstances."  
  
"I just don't feel right getting them involved, they have a city to run, remember?" Killik said, "Getting the guards on a guy who stole my sister's goggles might not look good for the people living in the city."  
  
"So, the thief was a guy?" Kinder said, raising an eyebrow, "Why do I get the feeling you're hiding something from me?"  
  
Killik said nothing, not that he could as at that moment he saw Akira come out of the phantasmal blue door next to him, causing Kinder to tug his sleeve as he turned in surprise  
  
"Where the hells did you come from!?" he said, while Killik watched Akira blink for a moment, most likely trying to come up with an answer.  
  
"Uh... he's my new friend!" Killik said, "We were practicing our stealth skills!"  
  
"Oh, ok then," Kinder said, seemingly buying the lie, "Well then, you must be one of the humans Killik found yesterday, right?"  
  
"Yes, I'm Akira," the human then said, while Killik stood back a bit as Kinder suddenly got a smug look on his face.  
  
 _Oh no_ , Killik thought, realizing what was coming, as did Lola the pixie, judging by how the tiny creature preemptively cringed.  
  
"The name's Kinder rhymes with tinder," the tall drow then said, "I'm the master of mischief, the drow with the power and most importantly... THE GOLDEN DRAGON OF JUSTICE!" Kinder then struck a pose where he looked like he was aiming an invisible bow at the sun. While Akira could only stare blankly at the wizard, all Killik and Lola could do was avert their eyes out of embarrassment.  
  
"Nice to meet you?" Akira finally managed to say after what seemed like an eternity, before shaking Kinder's hand with his own.  
  
"A pleasure to meet you too, Akira!" Kinder then said with a grin, before taking on a more serious expression as he looked back to Killik, "Now then Killik, are you alright? You've been a bit on edge lately, and you've been spending more time at the ruins too, you're not in trouble or anything, are you?"  
  
"I'm fine, Great Uncle Kinder," Killik then said quickly, only to earn a worried look from Kinder for a moment, before the drow reached into a pocket on his robe and pulled out a pocket watch made of silver.  
  
"Damn, I got to the ruins too late," he muttered to himself as he turned to leave the clearing, only to trip over Morgana on his way out, "Where did this damn cat come from?"  
  
Killik heard the cat meow indignantly, making him wish he could understand animals like his mother and little brother, Kalandyn for a moment before Akira answered with "Cats are masters of stealth."  
  
Kinder ended up giving Akira a flat look, before saying, _"Yutri t'zarreth!"_ and making a rather rude gesture towards Akira before he got up and dusted himself off.  
  
"What does that mean?" Akira then asked, before looking over at Killik, "Killik, are you ok?"  
  
Killik meanwhile was not ok. In fact, as he felt his heart race as he stared at the cat, he could also feel his body start to heat up while his birthmark started to glow a soft white. As Akira stared in confusion at the silent Fey'ri, however, Killik would watch as Kinder recognized what was going on, and quickly pulled the human back just in time as Killik's body became wreathed in blue flames. Killik's vision was obscured by the flames, unfortunately, but he could still hear what was going on around him, from Akira crying out in fear for the Fey'ri, to Morgana yowling in surprise. He could feel the apple in his hand start to bake and burn, but his body was fine- it always was fine whenever this happened as he tried to stop the fire around him. Closing his eyes, Killik took several deep breaths as the flames started to die down around him, leaving behind slightly singed grass around him once the blue flames were completely dispelled. He did his best to relax despite his fear, and tried to focus his mind on anything else for now- the smell of the roasting apple in his hand, the breeze blowing into the clearing and letting him smell the roses scattered about it.  
  
Soon, the flames finally disappeared, and Killik looked embarrassed as he glanced at the worried Akira, who was currently held back by Kinder- the tall drow's expression unreadable for the moment, while Lola hid behind the drow.  
  
"Uh... sorry," Killik said once he found his voice again, "I... explode sometimes around cats..."  
  
"That's an understatement..." Kinder muttered under his breath, earning him a glare from the Fey'ri before he took a bite out of the still-hot apple in his hand.  
  
"Are you alright though?" Akira said, "I mean... people normally don't spontaneously combust."  
  
"I'm good," Killik said, hearing Morgana meow again, though he couldn't help but feel that the cat was talking smack about him while Kinder silently left the clearing. Once the tall drow was gone, Akira then decided to ask another question.  
  
"Killik, do you always have blue flames explode around you like that?"  
  
"Only when I'm extremely scared or angry," Killik said, "I... have a power that lets me mostly control fire, and thanks to my partner, Khrima... I can also see and interact with spirits as well."  
  
"Your partner?" Akira said before realization hit him, "Is your partner a bird, by any chance? Because that's what Morgana keeps saying he sees."  
  
"Yeah," Killik said with a nod, "Do you want to meet Khrima?"  
  
"Of course," Akira said, only to watch as Killik started digging around in his bag, "What are you doing?"  
  
"Getting out my harp," he said, before doing just that- the harp itself being a small U-shaped one with an ivory frame, and inlaid with jade vines and lapis lazuli roses. The silver strings glinted in the sunlight as well, before Killik started to play- the music causing the area to become slightly cooler as the familiar sensation of planes colliding hit him. This always happened whenever he played his harp, though he honestly didn't know why that was, except for magic. But as he glanced up at the tree above him, he saw the shimmering blue bird start to solidify as it hopped down from the tree and onto the ground, the swan-necked bird with an eagle's beak looking straight at Morgana as it gave a bow.  
  
All Killik could do was roll his silver eyes and keep playing, noting that Akira and his cat seemed in awe of the bird with the long, peacock-like tail.  
  
"She's beautiful," Akira said, earning an annoyed chirp from Khrima.  
  
"Khrima's a guy, believe it or not," Killik said, only for Akira to look embarrassed.  
  
"Sorry," he then said, while the Fey'ri continued to play, "So... what is Khrima?"  
  
"He's a Phoenix spirit," Killik said, causing Morgana to yowl, "Is... is your cat surprised or something?"  
  
"He's surprised that Khrima's a phoenix," Akira said, causing Killik to raise an eyebrow.  
  
"Well, he may be a bit on the small side, but he is a phoenix..." Killik then said, earning him a dirty look from his partner, "I only said a bit, Khrima!"  
  
The bird seemed slightly offended by this and gave an indignant flap of his wings while Killik continued to play his harp, watching as the bird seemed to examine Akira. Though Killik didn't really know what the bird was examining the human for, he still played his harp as he watched Akira reach out and touch the bird. However, as Khirma soon flared up, Killik stopped playing, causing the bird to vanish from all but his own sight.  
  
"Sorry," Killik said, "He's very picky about who touches him or the harp I have," he then explained, while Akira looked like he had a question, "No, I don't know why he's picky, all I know is that so far... I'm the only one allowed to touch him or the harp. Everyone else risks getting burned- though, I'll admit it makes three hells of a way to prevent theft..."  
  
"You speak from experience," Akira said, causing Killik to nod.  
  
"Yeah... a human paladin that's visiting the nearby city tried to take my harp after swiping my sister's goggles," Killik then said with a sigh, causing Akira to glare.  
  
"Are the goggles special in any way?" Akira then asked, leading to another nod from Killik.  
  
"Yeah," he said sadly, "My sister's blind without him, so that bastard basically took away her sight for no real reason other than she's a drow. He's also threatened me after I did my best to defend her."  
  
That caused Akira to frown and clench his fist, before he asked another question, "What did he threaten to do?"  
  
"Just send me to the Abyss if he finds out I told anyone about the incident," Killik said with a bit of a growl, "And honestly, I do not want to go there."  
  
"What's the Abyss?" Akira then asked, looking a bit concerned for Killik- why would he do that? He barely knew the Fey'ri. Then again, Killik wasn't entirely sure why he was even telling a stranger about his problems in the first place. All he knew was that there was something about the human that made him feel like he could tell him anything, and it would be fine.  
  
"It's a place where Demons live," Killik then said, "Six hundred and sixty-six pits of chaotic evil," Killik then said, only to watch as Akira pulled a small tablet from his pants pocket. It was thin and looked like was made of glass and some other material he didn't recognize, and as he caught a glimpse of various symbols on the device, he wondered what sort of magic was making it work as Akira glanced down at it and seemed to spot something. Tapping his thumb against one of the symbols, the human then decided to ask one more question.  
  
"This Paladin, does he have a name?" Akira then asked, surprising Killik.  
  
"Yeah, Argus Thedalfinch, why?" the Fey'ri asked, only to hear a female voice come from the tablet.  
  
 _"Candidate found,"_ the tablet said, shocking Killik as he moved to examine the strange magical device, "W-Woah! It talked!?"  
  
"Yeah," Akira said as he held up the device, showing a vague map of the area, as well as a strange looking box with a line in the middle, "I guess I don't need a phone signal to use the Meta-Nav in this world..."  
  
"Meta-Nav?" Killik then said in confusion, "Okay, Akira, what's going on here?"  
  
"Basically..." Akira said, doing his best to find the words he needed to say, "This Thedalfinch's desires are distorted enough to create a... special plane in a place called the Metaverse, There, that special plane is called a Palace- think of it as the world inside his heart, as he views it. The Meta-Nav on my phone is able to let me and my friends go into that world so we can steal those desires and change his heart."  
  
Killik let the words sink in, crossing his arms to think as he closed his eyes and leaned against the tree behind him.  
  
"So... what you're saying is that you plan on going into the asshole's soul, steal what's making him such an asshole to try and make him not an asshole?" Killik said, and after earning a nod from Akira, opened his eyes and smiled at the human.  
  
"Well, there may be traps inside whatever is in Argus's soul so you're going to need some help. And since I know a good bit about spirits and want to see this for myself... well, I guess you can count me in."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter is pretty much from Killik's side of things, starting with what happened after Akira went into the Velvet Room up to the point Akira left, as well as what happened afterward. 
> 
> We also find out more about the mysterious bird Morgana kept seeing, a bit about Killik's own abilities and also about what sort of problems he's facing.
> 
> In other words, we're starting to get to the fun stuff of the fic- THE PALACES! And first up, is an arrogant paladin; 
> 
> So yeah, sorry the notes this time is short but... I can't really think of much to say. So... Next time, we get to meet Argus Thedalfinch in person and see just how bad of a Paladin he is...


	12. Argus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira and Killik visit Ryuji, where they meet a horrible man.

Akira and Killik had arrived at the temple of Corellon to visit Ryuji, the human's mind was swirling a bit after recent revelations. As not only was Killik in some sort of trouble that he couldn't bring his family into, but the source of that trouble also seemed to be a candidate for having a Palace, according to the Meta Nav on his phone. Combined with the fact that Killik had a partner in the form of a Spirit Phoenix named Khrima, Akira felt he needed to tell Ryuji about what was going on, just for a taste of normalcy.  
  
"Do you think Ryuji's doing ok?" Morgana said from his new bag- a messenger bag that Killik bought for Akira at the tanner's shop since the human hadn't gotten his first paycheck yet from Smiles. Still, as he and the Fey'ri walked towards the Temple of Corellon, it was clear to Akira that his new friend didn't seem very comfortable as they entered the building.  
  
"You alright?" Akira then said while Killik nodded.  
  
"Yeah, I.. just don't visit the temple that often, that's all," Killik then said, and after meeting with Bethany, followed her to a side room where Ryuji was waiting for them- the fountain in the middle of the room once more making the atmosphere rather relaxing as the blond young man sat at a table.  
  
"Ryuji, you have visitors!" Bethany said cheerfully, causing Ryuji to look up from a doodle he was doing on a piece of parchment to pass the time.  
  
"Hm? Oh, thanks Bethany," Ryuji then said before spotting Akira and grinning, though when Killik quietly entered the room as Bethany left, his smile seemed stuck in place as his eyes widened in surprise.  
  
"Dude!" Ryuji then said as he jumped up, "Do you know you're being followed by a demon!?"  
  
"That's Killik," Akira then said causing Ryuji to give him a stern look.  
  
"You never mentioned that he had horns, or a tail... or Hell, that he looked like a Demon, or Devil or whatever!" Ryuji said, earning him an annoyed look from Killik as Akira prepared to answer with something witty. Unfortunately, Killik stole the spotlight first.  
  
"I'm a Fey'ri, which is part Demon, part Elf," Killik said, causing Ryuji to look worried as he continued, "My dad says that he has a Succubus for a grandmother or great grandmother on his mom's side, so I guess the demon blood didn't show up until I was born."  
  
"Uh... right, sorry," Ryuji said as he rubbed his neck, but seeing that Akira seemed fine with the Fey'ri, he relaxed a bit and introduced himself, "Anyway, I'm Ryuji, nice to meet ya."  
  
"Likewise," Killik said with a smile, reaching his hand out to shake the blond's, who happily agreed to the gesture.  
  
"So, Ryuji," Akira then said, getting his best friend's attention, "How are you holding up?"  
  
"I'm doing the best I can," Ryuji said, "Though I get released tomorrow for my community service- turns out my probation officer is going to be some guy named Derik Rydrion."  
  
"Really?" Killik said in surprise, "That's my Grandpa!"  
  
"Dude, seriously?" Ryuji then said, "Then do you know how to get on his good side so I can get my community service done as soon as possible?"  
  
"Do you like crossdressing?" Killik asked with all seriousness, causing Ryuji to pale a bit as he was assailed with memories of a certain pair of men back in his world.  
  
"Uh... no, not really," Ryuji said, causing Killik to raise an eyebrow.  
  
"Won't press ya, but Grandpa likes to dress up and feel pretty as a woman named Kerida," Killik said, "He's not the kind to force others to crossdress though, so if you're afraid of that, you're safe."  
  
"Uh... thanks?" Ryuji said though Akira wasn't sure if his friend was relieved that this wouldn't be an issue, or not. Still, it wasn't long before Ryuji turned to the raven-haired phantom thief, and decided to ask a question, "So, did you find out anything about this world?"  
  
"We found someone with a Palace," Morgana then said, causing Ryuji's eyes to go wide.  
  
"Wait, those exist here?" he said earning a nod from Akira, "Oh man, I thought we'd stop having to face the Conspiracy in another world..."  
  
"We don't know if it's in fact part of the Conspiracy, or a coincidence," Morgana then said "Or just how big the Metaverse even is in this world."  
  
"Right," Ryuji said, before looking to Killik, "Er... can you understand Morgana?"  
  
"Nope, my mom and maybe my Little brother could though, but that's due to a skill they share called Animal Empathy," Killik said with a shrug, before looking to the side.  
  
"Wait, seriously?" Ryuji said in surprise, while Killik moved to lean against the wall of the sideroom they were in. While Akira watched the Fey'ri for a moment, he thought he saw something splash in the nearby fountain- most likely Khrima watching over them as Ryuji asked another question, "So uh... have you guys been to the Palace yet?"  
  
"No," Akira said as he shook his head, "We don't have all the keywords to enter yet."  
  
"So, I take it you want to do a session to discover just that?" Ryuji said with a grin, before looking at Killik, "Oh right, uh... I guess you already know about the Metaverse, right?"  
  
"Yeah, Akira explained the whole Cognitive Plane to me already," Killik said, "It's still weird that there's an undiscovered Plane though, and while I'm curious about what it's like... I'm also a bit afraid as well, just in case it's like The Abyss."  
  
"What's the Abyss?" Ryuji said, causing Killik to sigh and tug on his braided hair for a moment.  
  
"Basically... it is where Demons live, a Plane consisting of six hundred and sixty-six pits of pure chaotic evil," Killik said, "I don't want to end up there, and honestly, prefer to avoid Planewalking as much as possible."  
  
"Dude, that's insane!" Ryuji said, "So, are there any other planes?"  
  
"The Upper Planes are where good beings live, the Lower planes where evil beings are located, the Astral Plane, the Ethereal Plane and the Elemental Planes of Earth, Water, Fire, and Air," Killik said, "I don't have time to explain them all, so you can ask Grandma about them when you get the chance."  
  
"Fair enough," Ryuji said, "So... what Plane are we in?"  
  
"The Prime Material," Killik said, before tilting his head and getting a concerned look on his face. Before Ryuji, Akira, or even Morgana could ask what was up though, the door to the side room opened up, revealing a tall man with wavy red hair and a broad nose as well as pale green eyes. He looked handsome enough in his gold-trimmed silver armor with a blue cape on his back, a sword with a blue ribbon tied to the pommel at his side, and also strapped to his back was a large shield. The man seemed stunned for a moment, before glaring at someone in the room, and as Akira glanced back at Killik, realized that this man was the guy the Fey'ri had told him about before at the ruins.  
  
"What are you doing here, Demon?" Argus Thedalfinch then asked, ignoring the two humans and the cat in the room, a hand on his sword.  
  
"Just minding my own business," Killik said, while Akira and Ryuji realized right away that things were about to get ugly.  
  
"Yeah, we're just talking," Ryuji said, with Akira getting a bad feeling as Argus kept his hand on his sword.  
  
"I highly doubt that," the Paladin then said, stepping closer to the group, "You haven't been telling anyone any falsehoods, have you?"  
  
"Of course not!" Killik said, staying where he was while Argus continued to glare, "I haven't told anyone anything."  
  
"Good," Argus said, a dangerous smile playing on his lips as he drew his sword, "then perhaps no one will complain as I send you back to the Abyss where you belong!"  
  
"Dude, what the hell!?" Ryuji then said, doing his best to hold back the psycho in the room, "He didn't do nothing!"  
  
"Lies!" Argus said, throwing Ryuji aside, and doing the same to Akira as well when he tried to get in the way, hitting the fountain in the process. As Akira struggled to get up despite the pain, both he and Ryuji would see the fear in Killik's eyes, while the blue mark around his eye started to glow. Akira swore he heard a bird screech as Killik flinched, soon exploding into blue flames as Argus got close. The paladin, however, did not stop and charged at the young Fey'ri, only for his sword to melt the moment it touched the flames, forcing him to drop it onto the ground.  
  
"Wh-What sorcery is this!?" Argus said, stepping back to avoid roasting in his mail as the flames died away, leaving a molten puddle of metal between Killik and his attempted murderer.  
  
Then, as to make things a little worse, Eramor burst into the room, an angry expression on his face.  
  
"What's going on here?" the elderly elf then said, earning Argus' attention as Killik remained where he was, slightly on fire in case the human paladin tried to take a chance to attempt to kill him.  
  
"Sir Eramor, I was on my way to meet with you when I found this demon lurking in the temple and trying to enchant these two boys!" Argus said, lying through his teeth as Eramor glanced at Killik as he let the man continue, "However, the demon managed to force the pair to try and protect him from my attempt to smite him before the demon used some evil power to destroy my blade!"  
  
"I'd like to get all sides of the story, if you don't mind," Eramor then said calmly, before looking to Killik again and gently asking the Fey'ri, "What happened, Killik?"  
  
He said nothing, instead choosing to look down at the ground in shame as Ryuji decided to speak up instead.  
  
"We were just talkin' when this asshole decided to barge in on us and tried to murder Killik," he said, "I don't know what happened with the flames, but all I know is that whatever caused them was in self-defense."  
  
"I see," Eramor said, before looking at Killik in worry, and was about to say something else when Argus spoke up.  
  
"Sir Eramor, you can't possibly listen to what he has to say!" the human Paladin then said, before he pointed to Killik and added, "As a famous Paladin yourself, you should be able to sense the inherent evil in that thing!"  
  
"That thing, as you put it, is my great-grandson," Eramor then said with a glare towards Argus, his dark green eyes piercing the anger in Argus's pale green ones, "As for the flames, that is because he has a special form of protection against thugs like yourself."  
  
"Then if you spare that monster, then you might as well have fallen!" Argus insisted, "I'll leave for now, but if I return in two tendays and see that he is not banished to purify the village of evil, I will personally execute him as my god demands!"  
  
Before Eramor could even respond, Argus left the room, pushing his way past Ianxalim as he left the temple itself. As the silent elf glared after the arrogant Paladin, he merely looked into the room to see the still slightly burning Killik and left to do his own business as Eramor walked closer to Killik and being careful not to step on the glowing red remains of a sword on the ground as well.  
  
"Are you hurt, Killik?" he said, as the flames died down to nothing as Killik nodded, the white light coming from his bird-shaped mark also fading back to sky blue.  
  
"Yeah," Killik then said quietly, while Akira looked to Killik in concern as well.  
  
"Eramor," Akira said, "Killik... is in trouble."  
  
"What?" Eramor then said, before looking back at the Fey'ri, "Killik, are you alright? What happened between you and that other Paladin?"  
  
Killik closed his eyes and turned away, taking a deep breath before he finally broke down and spoke.  
  
"Argus... he... he stole Em's goggles from her," he said, "She and I were visiting NEw De'Var and were about to head home when he came out of nowhere and punched Em. Her goggles fell off her face, and he picked them up, saying that she was scum. I tried to get them back, even telling him that she was blind without her goggles, but... he only said that drow like her shouldn't even be allowed to see the sun. I got angry, I tried to fight him, but.... he used his holy symbol on me to push me back. He then threatened me and Em with death if we told anyone what he did to us... so I kept quiet, hoping he'd go away.... but since he tried to kill me anyway..."  
  
"That's enough," Eramor said, hugging the Fey'ri close, "Did you see his holy symbol break or crack?"  
  
"No sir," Killik said as he pulled away from his Great-Grandfather, "It still seemed intact when he tried to attack me... before my flames kicked in."  
  
"I see..." Eramor said with a sigh, "So, it seems that asshole is the kind of Paladin that gives us a bad name."  
  
"What do you mean by that?" Ryuji then asked in confusion, causing Eramor to turn to face him, his arms crossed as Killik moved to help Akira up off the ground.  
  
"Some paladins, unfortunately, will do anything to uphold their laws," the elderly elf then said, "even if it means eventually breaking them."  
  
"So..." Ryuji then said as Akira silently thanked Killik, "Are you going to let him execute Killik?"  
  
"He better not," said a new voice, causing the group to turn and see a drow leaning on the doorway wearing a red and white armored coat over a green shirt and pale brown pants. This drow also had very short white hair, red eyes, and a whip hanging at his side. What's more, this older drow seemed to hold himself with an air of leadership as he added, "It would be out of character for Eramor to do so."  
  
"Indeed it would, Jared," Eramor then said, an annoyed smile playing on his lips, "Which is why if he is still intent on murder when the time is up, I will fight him myself."  
  
"Try not to get yourself killed, old man," Jared said with a smirk as the two elderly elves playfully glared at each other. Still, as Jared glanced at Killik he then added, "Still, I'll be sure to inform Killik's parents of recent events, and I advise that Killik gets a bodyguard in order to deter off future attacks from Argus- just in case he decides to try and murder him again. Well, unless he somehow has a change of heart before the deadline he's given."  
  
Ryuji and Akira exchanged looks then and there, wondering briefly if Jared knew something about the Metaverse, but as the drow left before they could ask, they watched as Eramor went after him, leaving the two humans and Morgana with Killik.  
  
"So, what are we going to do?" Morgana then asked, only for Akira to pull out his phone and speak.  
  
"I say that starting tomorrow, we try and figure out Argus' keywords and infiltrate his Palace," he said, while Ryuji nodded.  
  
"Got it, you're our leader after all," Ryuji then said as he gave a thumbs-up, before looking to Killik, only to see the Fey'ri start gathering up the molten remains of the sword and start rolling it up into a ball, "Uh... what are you doing?"  
  
"When I'm stressed after an explosion, I like to take some metal and make figurines out of them to help me relax," Killik explained, sitting on the floor and shaping the metal glob into the form of a rabbit, the Fey'ri looking like he was working with clay.  
  
"Uh... aren't your hands burning up?" Ryuji then asked while Akira thought of their friend Yusuke Kitagawa and his artistic eccentricities as well.  
  
"Nah, I'm fireproof," Killik said, holding up his hand and showing that it was completely fine, "It's a part of my powers... and sculpting metal helps me keep things under control as well."  
  
"Have you ever lost control?" Akira then asked, causing Killik to stop working and look down at the ground as he nodded.  
  
"Yeah... I... really don't want to talk about it," he said while shaping the ears of the metal rabbit, "All I know, however, is that I am not looking forward to mom having a talk with me when I get home tonight..."  
  
"Why's that?" Ryuji then said, causing Killik to let out a groan.  
  
"Because mom can be a bit overprotective of people she loves," Killik said, "Hells, she even led an army to rescue my dad from an evil priestess when I was like, five."  
  
"An army!?" Ryuji and Morgana said together, before Ryuji then added, "Isn't that a bit of overkill!?"  
  
"My Great Grandma didn't seem to think so," Killik them muttered under his breath, before adding aloud, "Anyway, I just don't want my family hurt because of me, ya know?"  
  
Akira said nothing, mainly because he was unsure what to even think at the moment. Still, he had to admit, he was glad that Killik had some reasonable adults in his life in this situation, which was better than he had when he was just starting out as a phantom thief. Sure, he had eventually gained Sojiro's trust as time went on, but he was also a little jealous of Killik at the moment since it seemed his family wasn't going to abandon him like his parents did a couple of years before.  
  
As the boy and cat parted ways for the evening, Akira decided to speak to Killik one last time, just to see something for himself.  
  
"Do you think I can stay at your place tonight?" he then asked, catching Killik off guard.  
  
"Well, sure," the Fey'ri then said, "Though, if you want to sleep over or something, you got to make sure it's okay with my mom."  
  
"I don't mind that," Akira said, and so the two boys and Morgana went off to the other side of town, where the Druid's home was located.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, in this chapter, we finally meet the first target of the story- Argus Thedalfinch, asshole Paladin.
> 
> We also get to see a hobby of Killik's, which is well, making statues and figurines from metal.... with his bare hands thanks to the power he gains from his bond with Khrima. 
> 
> Also, I really hope that Akira, Morgana, and Ryuji are in character so far for this story, since well, I have trouble with canon characters.
> 
> Next time- we get to see what it's like at Killik's house.


End file.
